The unexpectedly soft soul
by True Demonic Innocence
Summary: A year after the destruction of Naraku and the completion of the Jewel, things have been looking up for Kagome and her friends. Newly joined with Sesshoumaru's pack, none of them thought anything could go wrong. Then again, you never expect it to happen. Cursed by a strong witch for saving Inuyasha, Kagome requires the help of a certain taiyoukai to break it, and more. SessxKag.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for her excellence.**

**Chapter 1 **

Where was Inuyasha and why hadn't he come for her yet? Kagome wondered of the circumstances as she trotted away from the Bone Eater's well and toward Edo, her worn, yellow backpack hoisted on her shoulders. Surely he'd have come for her by now… Maybe something had happened?

Onyx hair flying over her shoulders, the miko jogged against the wind until she reached the entrance of Kaede's village. Her warm brown eyes lit up when she caught sight of her friends; Sango the taijiya, Miroku the hentai monk, Shippou the little kit she considered her own and Kirara the twin-tailed nekomata demon. But where was Inuyasha? He was probably not too far away.

"Hey guys!" The priestess greeted her companions with a toothy grin. They greeted her back and the youkai slayer even went as far as getting up from her sitting position and hugging her sister of the future. Then Kagome was overwhelmed by a giddy little red-headed fox demon. Shippou always thought that any amount of time away from Kagome was an eternity.

"Inuyasha's not with you?" Miroku asked when he felt the moment was over, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his robes much like their hanyou friend often did. Kagome closed her eyes briefly and shook her head before setting her gaze into his violet one.

"No, I thought one of you would know where he is…" She dropped her heavy bag on the grass they were resting on and sighed at the weight lifted from her shoulders. Sango looked uneasy for a moment as she shifted her eyes to the cute cat youkai curled up in her lap.

"He left last night to go and get you in your time, Kagome. We saw him off and everything. We assumed he had stayed at your home for the night again because you were studying for one of your tests." Sango's chocolate eyes found Kagome's and saw the worry etched within them. Shippou and Miroku took note of this also.

"He never showed up. Could something have happened to him?" The 17 year old worried at her bottom lip as numerous horrible possibilities went through her mind. Naraku couldn't have gotten to him before he made it to the well; he was dead. Or what if it was Sesshoumaru? No, Sesshoumaru wouldn't have tried anything, not with the sudden peace between the two half-brothers as of late. Unless the peace was only a front to throw them off? No, Sesshoumaru, young lord of the west did not lie or resort to such trickery.

Then…what? If it wasn't Naraku or Sesshoumaru, what could it be? Kouga had settled down with Ayame so he wouldn't have bothered with Inuyasha at this point. Kagome couldn't think of any other enemy the inuhanyou had that was still alive and wished him harm or that had the power needed to inflict harm upon him. Had he simply left on his own? After all, what was there left for him with them? The Shikon no Tama was gone, his revenge on Naraku had been exacted and he was strong enough on his own. But would he really leave them behind? His friends?

"I'm over thinking things again." With a quick shake of the head, Kagome cleared her mind of negative scenarios and sat down with her closest friends. She felt so close to them, in fact, that she considered them her family.

Miroku was her older, flirty brother who loved to chase skirts but loved one special lady above all others. With his dark hair tied back in a small pony tail, his violet eyes and his purple robes, he was quite handsome for a monk. He was strong willed and took the loss of his wind tunnel in stride, even if he missed it at times. His spiritual energy was enough for him, much like Kagome relied on using her own. Though, he did love wielding that staff of his around, especially in close combat fights.

Sango had been like a sister to her since they met. She even looked the part with her similarly coloured eyes and her dark brown locks. The pregnant slayer had recently put down her Hiraikotsu and exterminator's garb until further notice. Instead, she settled for wearing her simple kimono and loosely tying her hair back with a ribbon as she'd always done. She was the cautious older sister who would kick a bigger guy's ass if he hurt her siblings. Trained to fight and be strong of body and heart, she was everything Kagome could have ever asked for as a sister.

Then there was little Shippou, the small fox demon with fiery red hair and amazing green eyes. What really caught the eye about him was his fluffy tail and his almost constant smile. Orphaned at such a young age, Kagome cared for him like he was her son. She spoiled him with tasty candy and made sure he always had colourful wax crayons and paper to draw on. The little kit liked to put on a brave front but he still scared quite easily; he was only a child after all. But with Kagome as a mother figure and the others treating him like their little brother, he learned from them and always did what was right. Though he still wished Inuyasha would be less rough with him…

Kirara, the nekomata youkai, was just a lovable little cat who transformed into a bigger lovable cat when her companions needed the protection. She was strong and fierce and could light up a campfire in a second with the flames that formed around her paws and tails when she transformed. Protective and comforting, trained for battle and cared for by Sango, Kirara was the ideal comrade. Everyone loved her.

And finally, Inuyasha, who played the role of a best friend in Kagome's life. She had once loved the silver haired half-demon with the golden eyes and pointy dog ears at the top of his head like a lover would. He was her soul mate, much like Sango was her soul sister. But soul mates came in many different forms and as it turns out, he just wasn't the forever type. They still loved each other as only the greatest of friends could. He was brash, rude, temperamental and hard headed. He annoyed her to no end while simultaneously making her feel like she belonged and reassuring her of her worth. Inuyasha was simply himself and that was all he needed to be for their group. Kagome couldn't resist treating him like the dog he was at times but they both laughed about it at some point. It wasn't her fault that he actually chased after the stick that one time she told him to fetch.

Thinking back on fond memories, Kagome settled her back against the tree trunk closest to her and listened to her friends chattering. Inuyasha would come back when he would or could. He'd never leave them all hanging forever. He loved them as much as they loved him, even if he never said it. Well, he had said it once at Sango and Miroku's wedding when he was down a jug of sake but they didn't really count it. Even if a drunken man did what a sober man was too cowardly or proud to do, they were patiently waiting for him to properly voice out his affections. Kagome had faith in his ability to express sentiment, even if he got embarrassed about it. And now that Kikyou was eternally at rest, the hanyou had softened slightly in regards to the people he held dear. He'd sometimes hold Kagome's hand just because he could and he'd hug all of them if he felt like they needed it. The year since the end of the shard hunt had turned him into a caring brother figure indeed, Kagome mused to herself.

"Do you think Sesshoumaru will come back around soon?" Kagome snapped out of her musings when Sango spoke the name of the taiyoukai. She sort of missed the stoic demon lord and his subtle yet dark sense of humour. He was smart and very interesting, even more so when he actually spoke more than a few words. The Inu tachi had grown this sort of camaraderie with the aloof, full-fledged inuyoukai and they all seemed to get along pretty well. His aura, though big and menacing, was soothing in a way only pack members could understand. Kagome oftentimes felt calm in his presence despite his frigid mask and uncaring attitude. His glare was also hard to face at times but it barely ever held the animosity it once did.

"Rin is getting impatient, isn't she? I mean, we all know that even after spending years in a human village, she'll pick Sesshoumaru. He's basically her father. If anyone has any delusions over her possible choice of future lifestyle, it's him." Kagome replied, a vivid image of his handsome face in her mind. With his nearly knee-length silver hair, his smouldering golden eyes and his markings, he really was a sight for sore eyes. Kagome's favourite part about him had to be the royal blue crescent moon on his forehead. Though, admittedly, she also admired the twin magenta stripes on his cheekbones and the slightly darker ones on his eyelids. Far from being in love with the humanoid demon, she admired him like any logical woman would. And his silk kimono and the fur pelt draped over his shoulder only enhanced the appearance of his strong body, his armour and swords a testament of his warrior ways.

"It's only been six months too. I can still remember the shattered look on her face as soon as he turned his back to her the first time he left her with Kaede." Sango murmured softly, a distant look in her eyes. The mother in her was already coming out and she felt for the girl. It was the same look Kohaku, her younger brother, had on his face when he was younger and they would leave him at the slayer's village while they went exterminating. She had a look of longing in her eyes, pleading to not remain behind. Unable to disobey her lord though, she simply cried silently, salty tears trailing down her round cheeks. It had been hard for him to walk away with the scent of her tears in the air and his instincts to make it better for his ward but he did. The poor girl was only 10 years old and she needed him. That's why he visited as often as he could and lavished her with gifts from all over that he picked up while traveling with Jaken. Ah-Un was with Kohaku somewhere, serving as his traveling companion. The taiyoukai's little group was split up.

"He was no better for a bit. He'd grown accustomed to having her around and didn't quite know how to act with her gone. I don't understand why he would purposefully but the both of them through that when it's obvious they need each other." Miroku added in, his brows furrowed and his lips set in a thin line. If Sesshoumaru really wanted Rin to learn how it was to live with humans, he could have just left her with them.

"I would have thought that you knew, monk." The hard voice of the young inuyoukai lord broke through their collective reverie. Sesshoumaru, in all of his glory, was walking up the grass hill to join them. His gait made it seem like he was gliding more than walking, his posture exact and elegant. Every movement he made was elegant really.

"Sesshoumaru!" They all exclaimed in surprise, not having felt his smothering aura approach. "What are you doing here?" Kagome asked, straightening her posture out of respect. He sent a short glare her way, having already told her in the past that such forms of respect were unnecessary between pack. She relaxed back against the tree trunk and rolled her eyes at the silent reprimand. He really had a way of communicating his thoughts without even opening his mouth.

"Inuyasha has been taken," A series of gasps erupted from the group. "I've crossed his scent trail on my way and he was clearly unwilling." Sesshoumaru continued to explain, aware that the news was unnerving. Though he was reluctant to admit it, his half-breed younger brother was far from weak. What being would have the possible strength to take him captive? A witch or a sorcerer perhaps; if they were very strong.

"We have to go help him then!" Kagome rose up to her full height, which was still more than a foot and a half shorter than the taiyoukai, and planted her hands on her hips. Like hell she'd let anyone take her best friend away from her! Sesshoumaru planted his gaze into hers and nodded almost indistinctively. He then turned to the others.

"Taijiya, I cannot allow you or the kit to come along." His tone held no argument but that didn't stop Sango. Almost as if to match her mood, the wind picked up. The day had not been sunny in advance but now the clouds overhead were darkening. A storm was coming; all the more reason for Sango and the child to stay behind.

"And why not?! I am perfectly capable of traveling and I can stay out of the way if ever a fight were to take place!" The beautiful young woman tried to reason as she stood up also. She was 7 months along in her pregnancy and therefore very round with child. The strong slayer was in no condition to take part in the rescue of his foolish brother.

"As alpha of this pack, it is my duty to insure the safety of my pack mates. A female who is pupped, regardless of race, is in no condition to take part in such a quest. As strong as you think you are, with the weather that is rolling in and the rough terrain ahead, your body will tire quickly and you will most likely become sick. I can not allow this to happen and therefore you stay behind. For the same reasons, the kit stays also. Young as he is, I do not need his frail immune system and easily exhaustible body to hinder our progress." That might have been the longest speech Sesshoumaru had ever given and he made good points. Kagome agreed with him wholeheartedly. Shippou and Sango on the other hand…

"Hey, I am a full-fledged demon too! My body is much stronger than even Kagome's yet you let her tag along!" The kitsune insisted, his stance straightening in inexistent bravery. His knees were slightly shaking, poor boy.

"The miko is a perfectly healthy adult woman who harvests the ability to protect herself if need be. She is quite capable of making her own decision to come and has the means necessary to stay warm and dry. Her energy levels exceed your own and it takes her longer to tire during travels. In normal circumstances, you are all free to do as you please but I refuse it this time. Your wellbeing is a priority, especially with a growing family."

Seeing the conviction in his eyes and hearing the protectiveness in his voice, they all halted their impending arguments. Content with their acceptance, the tall inuyoukai turned his back to them.

"Monk, you are free to do as you please, though I advise that you stay at your wife's side. I have already left Jaken with Rin until the ordeal is over. We leave immediately."

**Author's note:**

This chapter is significantly shorter than the others will be but I felt like I needed to get it out there. I can't promise an update schedule because of my job but I write in almost all of my free time so it probably won't be too long between updates. Thanks for giving this story a chance! :) You are free to review but I won't bitch if you don't. I write simply because I want to and opinions won't change that, even if it would be nice to hear what y'all have to say. I welcome flames with open arms so don't think that your negativity will stop me. ;) Anyway, that's it for now! Smile. :) ~Nat


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for her brilliance.**

**Chapter 2**

Travelling alone with Sesshoumaru was more than Kagome had bargained for. He set the pace and she had to follow. He barely spoke so she was left talking to the wind most of the time. And when the rain started drizzling softly, he started walking even faster. That damned taiyoukai…

"Sesshoumaru, would you slow down a bit? My feeble human legs can't take this pace, especially not with all of this mud!" The miko whined, discontented with the whole ordeal. He didn't pay attention to her words much though, his ears focused on the annoying swish sounds made by her strange raincoat. "Sesshoumaru?!" She stressed his name after a moment, wanting to get through to the passive demon. He still didn't respond.

After another hour or so of trekking and a new uphill course through thick mud and heavy downpour, she gave up. A few feet behind him as he kept walking, she stopped in her tracks and dropped. Her legs were shaking even after her weight was lifted off of them and her breath wasn't coming as easy as it should have. Knowing that she had an extra change of dry clothes in her bag, she ignored the wetness seeping through her pants in favour of stretching her legs out in front of herself. Finally, he stopped and turned his hard glare onto her spent form.

"Miko," He intoned coldly as he stayed rooted to his spot in annoyance. She was supposed to not delay his tracking so he could find his half-brother faster. Yet, now she sat in the mud with a blissful smile on her lips like an idiot… she was a fool.

"No, don't you 'miko' me! We've been walking for the past 4 hours and I'm tired and hungry! My legs are shaking from the strain and my back is getting really stiff! Where is the consideration you showed everyone else this morning? Why should I have to argue with you and fight for your attention to get a break when they were ordered to stay behind? I've been trying to get you to stop for the past hour because trudging in these conditions is really hard for me!" Kagome huffed and crossed her arms, newly winded from her frustrated speech. Could he not show an ounce of compassion for her?!

"I though you wanted to find the half-breed." Sesshoumaru shot back curtly. His hair was sticking to his face from the rain and his boots and the bottom of his hakama were getting all dirty. He wasn't happy with the weather either but he knew they couldn't stop. Did she know nothing of inuyoukai senses?

"I do! He's my best friend and I want him safe but I can't keep going like this!" Tears started welling in her eyes from the exasperation coursing through her slim body. "Why can't you just listen to me for once and let me have a short break?" Her tone was pleading and he was contemplating giving in to her for a second. Then reality set back into his mind and he steeled himself against her pitiful display of emotion.

"You will not rest! To find Inuyasha, we must make as much progress as possible as fast as we can!" He countered angrily, suddenly regretting his decision to let the monk stay behind. Surely Miroku could have talked some sense into her thick skull.

"And why is that?!" She shouted back, anger making her tremble more than she already was. She should have stayed in bed. No, she should have come back yesterday, that way Inuyasha wouldn't have been captured on his way to retrieve her from her time.

"This Sesshoumaru's sense of smell is as sharp as ever but the rain still washes scent trails away! If we stop and give the rain time to serve its purpose, the trail could be washed away completely before we can find the hanyou!" He nearly roared, letting his annoyance get the better of him. The only people who could bring out any of his emotions were the miko and his younger brother. Even Jaken could not make him break face and the toad youkai sure grated his nerves a good amount each day. He enjoyed Kagome's company most of the time but he hated that the cunning young woman could make him loose it with some of her many innocent arguments. If she'd been anything but human, she would have understood and wouldn't have seemed so ignorant or stupid in some cases.

Kagome sniffled and lowered her head, realization dawning on her. Of course, how could she be so naïve? You'd think that after so much time travelling with Inuyasha she'd remember that. It was such simple fact, basic knowledge even. Water washed away evidence.

"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru. I guess I was being selfish. I hadn't thought it all through." The timbre of her voice was subdued and apologetic, making him want to comfort her. It was disgusting, these pack instincts that quite literally made him want to touch people and make them feel better. He constantly had to fight with himself in order to keep his reputation and dignity intact. To show emotion or favouritism was something a good lord and tactician couldn't afford to do, especially not the lord of the west.

Then, from one second to the other, Kagome was scooped up into strong arms and cradled against a hard chest. Kami, he had more muscle than his physical appearance gave him credit for! Momentarily giving in to his instincts because of the guilt and the lack of witnesses, he nuzzled her soaked hair softly before simply proceeding on their journey. Giving her heart a significant amount of time to calm down, Kagome relaxed into his chest, careful of his armour and the spikes that adorned it._ If he hadn't gained his right arm back along with his Bakusaiga_, she mused, _this would have been way less comfortable._

"Rest miko," he ordered, his velvety smooth baritone anything but commanding. "I will carry you until you feel well enough to walk again." He could feel her shaking from her earlier exertion and could help being angry with himself. He'd neglected his pack mate. Though Inuyasha was his brother and pack mate and it was indeed important to find him, he shouldn't have ignored Kagome's need for rest. And at least now he could use his demon speed to make up for the time they'd lost because of the trying terrain and her objection to keep going. He might even reach the end of the seemingly long trail ahead of them before the rain washed all of the traces away. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner?

It took less time than he thought before Kagome was fast asleep in his arms. It took even less time for him to realize where his brother's reluctant path was leading them. Strangely enough, there was no second smell that accompanied it. He knew for a fact that there was someone else, they just had no scent. Or, more likely, they had the ability to hide it. Before long, he was standing at the gates of his mother's palace. Looking down, he nudged Kagome awake with the tip of his fair nose. She stirred and cracked her eyes open.

"Sesshoumaru?" Her voice was hoarse from sleep and her eyes slightly unfocused. The inuyoukai slowly slid her down onto her feet, steadying her when she failed to steel herself in time. She finally managed to take a firm stance, causing him to take his hand back from her elbow. Stifling a yawn, Kagome looked around, her gaze zeroing in on the parted gates in front of them.

"We've reached our destination, miko." The powerful dog demon at her side stated in clipped tones. She sent him a concerned glance but he dismissed it when a woman appeared before them. A woman that was most certainly not his mother and who positively reeked of Inuyasha's prior struggles.

"That you have, young lord of the west." The woman spoke in a husky tone. Kagome's eyes snapped to the blonde whose hair reached just below her bust in a straight plait. She had a gaze green like sea foam that held a wicked glint and wore the finest robes made of silk. Her painted red lips were stretched into a shifty grin. Kagome stepped closer to Sesshoumaru, her hand clutching to the sleeve of his haori out of its own accord. She was not getting a good feeling out of that one.

"Where is my brother and what have you done to him? Surely a sorceress from the continent has no business with one such as him." The imposing inu had his mask set firmly into place, his blank glare focused on her eyes. The eyes were ultimately the window to the soul.

"Oh but darling," The strange woman began seductively, only to be cut off by the taiyoukai.

"Refrain from addressing this Sesshoumaru with such casualty. Your games do not interest me and only waste my time."

"Sesshoumaru, wait, something's not right." Kagome whispered in panic, a sudden chill charging up her spine. Shuffling even closer to him, searching for the comfort that usually came with his incredible aura, she shuddered. "I don't think Inuyasha is here at all. It's a set up." She finished her observation, her breath hitching. Inuyasha was not in that castle. In fact, he was nowhere near it. With her quickly escalating powers, Kagome had gained the ability to sense him when he was close because of the subjugation beads suffused with her power that resided around his neck. She could not feel them now.

"What a powerful little priestess we have here, huh? Able to tell her former love interest is not here but unable to sense what awaits her in this trap. What a shame." The witch shook her head in mock dejection. Sesshoumaru abruptly tensed, his golden eyes narrowing toward the woman.

"I am Kurami. I was summoned here by lady Kimiko of the west to fulfill a purpose." The witch introduced herself, her chin lifting in pride. Sesshoumaru merely sniffed in disdain, angry for being deceived and irritated at his mother. What could she possibly hope to achieve by summoning an enchantress and using his half-breed brother as bait? His lady mother was known for causing trouble, as proven by the test of strength she administered to him when she sent Rin to the underworld so he could better his Meido. _What is she up to now_, he wondered.

"There is nothing dark or beautiful about you, Kurami," Sesshoumaru spoke his true thoughts to the wicked woman. "You serve bad purposes yet hold no true appeal. Only one as desperate as my mother would need the assistance of such a lowly ningen witch."

Kurami growled then, all playfulness seeping out of her body and pure anger taking it's place. How _dare _he? She had trained all her life to be as great as she was and she was not about to let some _dog _insult her power or expertise in such a degrading way.

"_Dreams and realities become unclear_," The sorceress started chanting the curse she was summoned to place, not waiting a moment more to deal with her task. If she could destroy anything dear to that mutt, by hell she would. He would regret insulting her excellence. "_What is unreal is only as real as it appears. When cared for faces leave your memory, questions rise of their authenticity."_

Feeling the pull on his sleeve give out, Sesshoumaru looked to Kagome over his shoulder, only to find her collapsed on her knees. She was holding her head on each side with her hands, shaking it roughly and making her sodden lock of charcoal hair whip against his calf.

"No," The miko whined softly, a whimper escaping her lips. There was a deep burn in her head that pounded in rhythm with her erratic heartbeat. An aching in her chest made her feel like she had been shot with an arrow; the same pain she experienced when Kaguya of the Dreams sent her arrow right back at her using her mirror and it pierced her through her upper back. What was happening to her?

"_Paranoia and fear will climb the ladder of your mind, logic and sanity left far behind._"The enchantress continued without pause, her impure aura flaring with her chant. Kagome was now frantically pulling at her hair, her scalp feeling as if it was crawling with thousands of fire ants.

"Make it stop. Please, make it stop, now!" She cried pleadingly, begging for any form of reprieve. She'd never felt so attacked before, the torment more than she ever thought she could bear. _Sesshoumaru_, she called to him in her thoughts, _help me, please._

"Cease your incantation at once!" The taiyoukai roared at the disturbing wench, a sneer plastered on his usually blank features. She was hurting his pack mate and she needed to quite while she still could. He was about ready to lop off her head.

"_Desire to figure real from fake a main ingredient in newly acquired blood thirst, only the death caused by your hand will ring true to the one who is cursed_."

"This Sesshoumaru orders you to halt. I will not hesitate in beheading you if you do not!"

"No, please end the pain. Make it _stop_." Kagome continued to convulse in her kneeling position, the paint inside of her only escalating with every word that came from Kurami's filthy mouth. At this point, the priestess couldn't even hear what she was saying anymore; much less understand what it all meant for her.

"_Mind lost like a wall taken down brick by agonizing brick,_" At this point, Sesshoumaru had thrown all caution to the wind and was kneeling next to Kagome, holding her shoulders to try and keep her grounded. His aura was gliding over her writhing form, trying to smooth out the wrinkles in her metaphorical sheet. He had to get her to come back to herself instead of letting her resolve deteriorate from the inside out. She was loosing it, not even aware of what went on around her anymore. She wasn't even pleading for help anymore, simply folded into herself with her jaw dropped in silent agony. She was suffering terribly and there wasn't a thing he could do to protect her. Except, maybe…

"_Even the most fervent encouragements won't do the trick. Only one may save you yet, or may you forever be nothing more than a killer pet._" And with the last word of the curse, Kagome collapsed into unconsciousness, the witch's severed head hitting the ground simultaneously. Green acid dripped to the dirt in testimony to the method of decapitation used and acrid fumes swirled around the duo of still living beings.

Clutched to the inuyoukai's chest, Kagome swam within her blank mind. She was lost to the world for an indefinite time. When she would wake, the curse would be in motion, slowly eating away at her sanity.

Meanwhile, as the vile enchantress' body quickly evaporated from his poison, Sesshoumaru had yet to see his mother make an appearance. Lady Kimiko was probably sitting on her imported cushions calmly, waiting for someone else's sullied hands to complete her will. Only when she knew everything was said and done that she would come out and verify the success. Then and only then would she happily find the beheaded body of the blonde witch melting and her son and his inert pack mate gone. There was no way in hell that he would confront the bitch he called his mother. If he even got a glimpse at her face before he could calm down… _I'll kill her. I'll take her life and then there'll be no chance of her telling me how to reverse this curse or why it was even used against Kagome. I'll wait until we're certain of the effects before wringing some answers out of that foolish woman. Cursed wench._

Soaked silver locks blowing in the humid wind following the rain, Sesshoumaru picked Kagome up and turned his back to his mother's home. His fur pelt whipping behind him in a proudly pissed manner, the taiyoukai began the journey back to Edo. He would get revenge for whatever had just taken place but before that, he had to get the miko to safety and find his half-brother. How had a simple human sorceress tricked him with such an untrue trail? Even worse, how had she gotten that scent out of Inuyasha so she could imitate it so precisely?

**Author's note:**

Hey y'all so this is chapter 2! I'm not completely satified with it but I can't think of anything I can do that would make it better. I hope it isn't too confusing haha! Review if you feel like doing so, even if it's a flame! I actually enjoy any type of criticism because it helps me better myself in ways that silence cannot do. Thanks for giving this story a chance peeps! :) -Nat 3


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for her amazing work.**

**Chapter 3**

"Kagome," The gruff voice of her best friend spoke though her dreamless haze. The young woman cracked her eyes open and blinked repeatedly to clear the blur in her vision. The sight of Inuyasha's face looming over hers greeted her and happiness unlike what she'd experienced in a long while took over. "Hey, Kagome." He was smiling softly down at her, his golden eyes shining in the light caused by the fire in Kaede's hut.

"Inuyasha! Thank Kami you're okay!" She tried to sit up to hug him, only to be pushed back down by his clawed hand on her shoulder. She gazed at him in confusion before realizing that it was in fact not his hand that had pushed her down but instead it was Sesshoumaru's. He was sitting beside his brother, keeping a keen eye on her to make sure she was fine.

"Never better. I'm just glad that you're not hurt." The hanyou reassured her before his face creased in sudden worry. "Wait, you're not hurt, are you?" He could see no physical injury or find pain in her scent but it was better to ask than just assume, what with the curse Sesshoumaru told them all about. Kagome let a soft grin cross her lips as she propped herself up on her elbows.

"No, I'm fine. I just feel a bit groggy and in need of a good bath." The miko giggled and finally sure of her state, the taiyoukai removed his hand from her shoulder to let her sit up properly. A bowl of hot stew was handed to her by the older priestess with the eye patch and Kagome took it gratefully. There was nothing a nice, warm meal couldn't fix.

"Why don't you tell her what happened, little brother? I am certain the miko would like to know everything." Sesshoumaru stood then and turned to leave the hut. He had to see Rin now that he was sure Kagome was doing well. He missed his ward but his instincts had him cooped up inside the cramped hut at the woman's bedside for the past day and a half instead of outside, watching Rin run around and be the happy little girl he knew she was. Sometimes, it was hard being the alpha of a pack.

"Yeah, what happened to you Inuyasha?" The question came around mouthfuls of the delicious stew made by Kaede. The half-demon shifted uncomfortably and then settled with his back against the wall. His hands crossed and tucked into his sleeves, his sword propped up against his shoulder, he closed his eyes for a brief moment before planting his golden gaze right into her hazel one.

"Well, three days ago I left Edo to go get you in your time 'cause you were takin' so damn long to come back and all. But when I got close to the well, I was stopped by this strange woman. She had weird hair and eyes and she was wearin' robes with the emblem of the west on 'em. I thought she was lookin' for my bastard brother or somethin' so I stopped to talk to her. But something was off about her…I didn't get a good feeling from the wench." He began the retelling of the past few days, his triangle-shaped ears lying back flat on the top of his head. "She started spouting this crap out to me about how I wouldn't find you at your home 'cause she had taken you hostage and I freaked out! I was worried somethin' bad was gonna happen to ya so I engaged the bitch in battle but she put this spell on me and I couldn't move anymore." The inuhanyou spoke with a tone of voice that warmed Kagome's heart. He cared so much about her and it felt good to actually hear it. Well, of course he cared; she was his best friend through thick and thin.

"But, if she didn't take you back to the palace with her, where were you?" Kagome asked as she finished her stew, handing the bowl back to Kaede with a nod of thanks. Kaede nodded back and Kagome stood up. Inuyasha followed suit and together they left the hut, her yellow backpack strung over his shoulder. He would walk her to the springs and then keep watch around to make sure nobody attempted to peep at his bathing friend.

"I was there, at the well, paralyzed and invisible. I couldn't talk or nothin'. Hell, I saw you come out the well and head towards Edo when you came back but you couldn't see me. The spell broke when Sesshoumaru killed her and I immediately rushed to meet up with the both of you. When I found you, he was carrying you back to Kaede's and you were unconscious. He told us everything that happened." Kagome paused and turned to her best friend with a question in her eyes. Why could she not remember what had happened at the castle? She knew they'd been there and she remembered Kurami's failed attempt at fooling Sesshoumaru but it was all blank after that, up until she woke up on the straw mat in Kaede's hut.

"You were cursed, Kagome. Don't you remember?" Inuyasha asked, his worried gaze locking with her own. This was the longest she'd seen him stay in such a state since Kikyou died. Ever since then he's been trying to stay happier and live in the moment, content that no dark force was after his life anymore and his past lover was free of her misery and resting in eternal peace.

"Was I? I can't recall. Do you know what the curse was?" She asked as she continued the trek to the spring where she'd take her well-needed soak and wash all of the drama away from her skin. The best she could do right then was feign nonchalance at the information. She was cursed? _I hope it's not something too bad, _she thought distractedly, _something we can fix. I don't want to become fatally ill and die. Well, I guess if that happened that Sesshoumaru could use his Tenseiga to bring me back and it would all be solved._

"Nah, I don't remember the specifics but how 'bout you get cleaned up and relax for a bit. Then we can go find that damned brother of mine and get the details."He shot the dark haired miko a reassuring grin, his fang flashing beneath his top lip in a way that Kagome had come to love. What was it about these inuyoukai that was so appealing to her? Inuyasha was attractive in a sort of rogue-ish, bad boy way and Sesshoumaru was the elegant, pristine type of hot. Were all dog-demons hot or was it just their bloodline?

Inuyasha left Kagome to her own devices and perched up high in a tree close-by so he could watch out for any incoming threats. Down in the cool waters, Kagome scrubbed herself clean with her organic shampoo, conditioner and soap. A soft scent of jasmine spread around from her products and it just made the evening air that much calmer. The sun was setting over the mountains in the horizon and beautiful colors painted themselves across the skies. From oranges, to pinks, to purples, the scene was just breathtaking, especially in the Feudal Era where there were no streetlights or car sounds to take away from the quiet or the view that formed the serenity.

On the other side of the small village, past the fields and bordering the tree line, Sesshoumaru sat with his back against a large trunk. His left leg was straight and his right one bent, his arm propped over it and his clawed hand suspended in the air. Rin was picking some flowers just a few feet away whilst Jaken complained about this and that. The little girl turned a deaf ear to his babbling and instead treaded over to Sesshoumaru, only stopping 2 feet in front of him and extending her hand out to offer him the prettiest flower she had picked. She knew her lord was beating himself up over what had happened to Kagome and she also knew that he didn't find the joy she did in flowers but she wanted to give it to him anyway. She wanted him to know that he wasn't at fault and he had her never-ending support and loyalty.

Sesshoumaru took his glance away from the magenta stripes on his right wrist and looked up at his ward. From her warm smile to the flower extended out to him, his fascination grew. For a child, Rin was very perceptive and intuitive. And maybe once he'd have turned away her simple offering; flowers held no importance to a strong taiyoukai such as he. But just this once, he stretched his hand out and delicately took the little flower from her small hands with the tips of his fingers. Her eyes brightened even more, if that was possible, and a barely noticeable smile graced his usually firmly-lined lips. His ward was a special one indeed if she could warm his heart with such innocent gestures.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" She spoke gently, the twinkle in her warm brown eyes sparkling in the last rays of the setting sun.

"Yes Rin?" He encouraged her question, bringing the insignificant flower to his nose and taking a useless sniff. He could already smell it when she held it and yet he felt the need to show her his olfactory inspection of her gift in a way he knew she would appreciate. He rarely showed such interest in what she presented him with, much less accepting her offers. She was a little human girl and she knew there was nothing she could give him that he couldn't get on his own or that he particularly even wanted. Sometimes, it was a struggle to have such a stoic being as a father figure but she loved him none the less for it. And lately, he'd been making an effort to be less cold, if still a wise tactician and a powerful lord.

"I don't think Kagome will be cross with you for having led her straight into the witch's trap."

"_Rin,_" The silver-haired inu forced out in a hard tone, wanting his ward to understand that he wanted to hear none of it. Besides, it was not a ten year-old girl's place to say such things to him. Who was she to stop him from blaming himself until proven otherwise by the words that would later escape the miko's lips? Only the priestess' claim of forgiveness would change the way he raged internally at himself. Until he knew that she forgave him, he would give himself no break. He'd rushed them both to his mother's palace and to her damnation. Because she was damned; damned to suffer from escalating insanity until he found a way to save her.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, it may not be my place to say so, but I am certain that she will understand. Kagome is a smart woman who, if given time, will use logic in dealing with her feelings. And if the curse pushes her too hard, she has all of us to hold her steady before she falls off of the edge. I believe that she will be okay." In the wisest words he's ever heard escape from her young mouth, Sesshoumaru understood. They, his pack, would also be there for the miko. He wanted to face his mother's wrath and seek out answers but he wasn't alone. Kagome had so many good friends that it was almost impossible to not find a solution. If he couldn't do it on his own, which he didn't doubt that he could actually do it, they would all help. Even Rin, in her own way, would help out. He was alone in taking the blame but not alone in making everything right again.

"Hn," was the sound that escaped his throat but Rin understood. She bowed to her lord and turned away with a smile, running off to find more pretty flowers for herself. She just really loved flowers.

The darkness settled down for the night and soon Rin was all tuckered out. Sesshoumaru brought her back to Kaede's hut and waited until she was down and out before going back outside, leaving his toad-youkai of a servant to watch after her. With a heavy sigh, the young lord of the west took his regal self towards the Goshinboku in the forest of Inuyasha. He could smell that his half-brother was there with their little miko, could hear them talking of mundane things.

"Souta misses you, Inuyasha. You should come home and spend the night. I'm sure he'd enjoy a nice sleepover with his role-model." That was Kagome, her sentence punctured with a soft giggle.

"The little brat's always happy to see me. Think he'd still fall for the Iron Reaver Soul Stealer thing?" Sudden amusement took over the hanyou's words at the prospect. Sesshoumaru finally came into viewing distance of the pair and spotted the best-friends up in the tree on a thick branch. Inuyasha was straddling the sturdy branch with his back against the trunk, his posture lazy and relaxed. He was facing Kagome who sat with her feet dangling off the branch, her hands holding onto the rough bark to keep herself steady. It didn't seem like it but inuhanyou was ready to catch her at any moment if she were to slip up and fall.

"It's been nearly 2 years, Inuyasha. I don't think he's so naïve anymore." Kagome turned her head to smile at him and he rolled his eyes. He knew Souta had matured since that whole puppy love incident but it was still a blast to have a bit of a laugh at the kid. Besides, it all worked out for him, didn't it? And he'd seen the boy like two months ago anyway so he knew how he was.

"I know. Think he'll let me play that video game of his again? It's nothing compared to the real thing but it was sort of fun." Kagome laughed at the admission and shook her head in amusement.

"Sometimes I think you do on purpose to come get me early so you can empty my house of ramen and take over Souta's ninja game. Mom said that next time she's sending us out to get extra ramen so she doesn't have to wait until you leave to stock back up." Rolling his eyes again, Inuyasha playfully nudged her side with the tip of his clawed toe.

"S'not my fault it's so damn good." It was Kagome's turn to roll her eyes before looking up at the starry sky between the canopies of leaves above them. You really could not get such a view in modern day Tokyo.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha's gruff voice surprised the taiyoukai. He'd figured that from his lack of voiced observation that his little brother was unaware of his presence. It is true that he was in plain view though, and Inuyasha had a keen nose too, and his aura wasn't masked…How had he thought that the half-breed hadn't noticed him anyway? It was a ridiculous assumption to say the least, especially from such an intelligent being. "You can stop eavesdropping now and just join in the conversation. Ain't nothin' to hold back when the topic is ramen!" He teased. He tucked his hand into the sleeves of his Robe of the Fire Rat and waited for his high and mighty brother to speak up.

"I care not for that human food. Your taste, as always, is quite disturbing little brother."

Kagome's eyes finally managed to make out the full-fledged demon's form in the darkness as he stepped forward. She'd known he'd been there from the beginning; his soothing aura like a protective blanket to a child who believed there was a monster under his bed or in his closet. She smiled at the analogy and waved minutely to the inu lord. He acknowledged her wave with an incline of his head.

"Keh, as if I care what you think! You should get off your high horse and actually eat food for the taste sometimes instead of just the sustenance it can provide you with." Inuyasha huffed, his gaze settling on Sesshoumaru with Kagome's. He was standing at the base of the Sacred Tree, looking up at the nearly full moon, the markings of his bloodline easily discernable against his pale skin.

Shaking her head at the half-brothers, Kagome sent a prayer out to the Inu no Taisho, thanking him for blessing the world with his offspring. If it hadn't been for Inuyasha, she'd be trapped in the ordinary, routinely lifestyle of a high school girl from Tokyo. At first, she'd resented being taken away from the chance to be normal. Now she wouldn't change any of it for the world. She loved this life.

**Author's note:**

So, sort of a filler chapter before things start picking up again. Soon there'll be talk of the curse, effects of the curse that start showing, confrontation with the lady of the west and all that jazz. Again, hope this wasn't confusing and I hope I didn't put them all too out-of-character. Tell me if I did though haha I don't trust myself to judge my own work! Stay tuned to find out all the impending adventures of this unlikely pack! Keep smiling, -Nat :) ^.^


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for her baffling greatness. **

**Chapter 4**

A piercing, feminine shriek broke through the campsite, waking every person lying around the dimming fire. The pack was camping in a clearing just beyond Edo because Sango wanted to spend one last night in the outdoors before retiring to the comforts of their hut for the remainder of her pregnancy. She only had about a month and a half left before the baby came.

"Kagome!" It was the pregnant taijiya that reacted the quickest, getting to her feet and rushing towards her sister from the future. Before she could reach her however, her husband gripped her around her rounding waist to stop her. That crazy look in their friend's eyes didn't bode well for anyone who tried to get close, much less for a fragile woman who was with child. Well, technically, Sango was far from being a fragile woman but Miroku wouldn't let her risk their baby's life.

"Get away from me! Traitor!" Kagome spat bitterly at the restrained slayer as she backed away hastily, her eyes locked with the older woman's own chocolate orbs.

"But Kagome, I haven't done anything. Tell me what's wrong?" Sango insisted from the secure embrace of Miroku's arms. What could possibly be going through Kagome's head? Was it the curse that was making her act so irrationally?

"I saw you! I saw the red fading from your eyes! You're working for Naraku, aren't you? He's back, isn't he?!" The priestess insisted, back peddling until she was stopped by a strong hand that clasped around the back of her neck. She turned panicked eyes upon the taiyoukai who towered over her by a minimum of a foot and a half. His intense golden eyes locked with hers and a growl of warning rippled out of his throat in a guttural echo.

"You were having a nightmare, miko. Calm down." He spoke through clenched teeth. He knew he shouldn't be angry at her for the disturbance; it wasn't her fault that the curse affected her in such a way. However, he found it harder than he had expected to control his annoyance. That scream had aggravated his ears in a way that no sound had for a long while. He could tell Inuyasha felt the same from the way he was rubbing at his soft ears just a few feet away, standing a short distance in front of Sango for added protection.

"A…nightmare? But," Kagome stuttered and tried to struggle out of his firm grasp in her incredulity. It had been so real, how could it have been just a nightmare. She'd seen Sango send a wicked smirk at her as they all went to sleep, scarlet eyes matching Naraku's flashing at her. It was a warning, a sign. They hadn't really won, Naraku wasn't truly dead. He was hiding somewhere!

"No, it was real! He's using her! She's another one of his puppets!" With new determination, the miko struggled harder in Sesshoumaru's grasp and desperately tried to gain ground on the now fearful taijiya. With a precise pressure exactly where his thumb gripped, Kagome fell limp in his hold. Sometimes, pressure points came in handy.

Ignoring everyone's gasp at the underhanded technique, Sesshoumaru slid her body to the ground softly before placing his left arm under her knees and his right one around her upper back. Lifting her to his chest, he trudged back to his previous resting place against a nearby tree. He settled back down and held her to his body, wrapping his fur pelt around her back for comfortable support. In a way that calmed agitated inu pups, he let a constant, soft growl take over his chest so it would resonate through her body and lull her into a pleasant sleep. He would keep it up until she woke up in the morning, assuring that she would have no more nightmares this night.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha began, approaching his brother and his unconscious best friend.

"Shut your mouth, little brother. We will speak of this in the morning." The young lord hushed his half-sibling. It would not do for the whelp's voice to agitate the slumbering miko through the comfort brought by his rumbling chest. So reluctantly, Inuyasha left to go find his own vacated spot at the base of a tree across their camp. Slowly, Miroku and Sango settled back down also, happy they'd left Shippou back at Kaede's with Rin and Jaken. It would not do for the little kit to see his mother figure act in such a way.

Kirara, who had stayed calm despite the whole affair, cuddled back up to Sango's side after giving a warning nudge at Sesshoumaru's boot. She would watch him and make sure he did nothing that would threaten Kagome, even if he had just knocked her unconscious using a pressure point at the base of her neck. It had been for the better, to calm her down more than to keep the others safe because they all knew Kagome couldn't hurt them even if she wanted to. Her soul was too gentle for such senseless harm.

The rest of the night and the next morning went by smoothly, only the two inu brothers had stayed awake to make sure Kagome was well. After a hearty breakfast of fish and noodles around the campfire, the group retired to the village, none speaking of last night's incident. One thing was for sure though; the curse had definitely worked. Slowly, Kagome's dreams were blurring with her reality, making her believe that things her mind made up while she slept were in fact real. Would she have really injured the pregnant slayer she considered her sister if the two of them hadn't been held back from each other? Was any curse powerful enough to make Kagome go against the kind essence of her soul?

It was nearly time for lunch, after Miroku and Sango had went to the springs to bathe, when Kagome spoke up. The rest of the group were idly following Rin and Shippou as they frolicked around the outskirts of Edo and chased butterflies. Kagome turned to Inuyasha with a frown on her brow.

"I want to go home for a day or two. I need to get some notes from Ayumi for the upcoming algebra exam." She told him, sending a sidelong glance at the stoic youkai who was walking a few steps beside them. Inuyasha nodded in understanding.

"Alright, I'll take you home. I'll even stop in to mess with Souta a little bit." The hanyou joked as he swung his arm up to rest it around her shoulders.

"While you're at it, please don't bully my cat anymore. Poor Buyo's getting up there in age. And before we go, I need to go see Kaede for something." Kagome excused herself, making Inuyasha take his arm back so she could go join Kaede in her hut. "Both of you keep your ears to yourselves." She warned with a soft glare before taking off in a jog. The brothers turned to each other as soon as she was far enough so they could have their own discussion.

"We have to find a way to stop this from getting bad. Kagome doesn't deserve to become insane." Inuyasha spoke up first, his words almost echoing the demon lord's thoughts. Two pairs of golden eyes locked and Sesshoumaru nodded.

"We must go see my mother, then. You will come along this time since you were the bait used to lure us in last time." Pausing for a moment, Sesshoumaru continued. "My mother thinks you are weak and will not take kindly to your barbaric way of speech. This Sesshoumaru strongly encourages you to be on your worst behaviour. She does not deserve any measure of effort at respect."

"Don't know why I'm even askin' but if she tries anything, can I cut her down?" This had a barely there smirk rising on the elder brother's lips. Oh how their thoughts were going the same direction for once.

"You may try, half-demon." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and started strolling along once more.

"Don't start that crap today ya bastard, I thought we were on a first name basis now."

Back in Kaede's hut, Kagome thankfully took the object the old priestess was handing her. She slipped it into the pocket of her jeans and shot a smile at the woman who was like a grandmother to her in the Feudal Era.

"Now Kagome, are ye sure this will work? Ye could be wrong about it, ye know." Kaede warned as she took a seat on the other side of the fire pit where lunch was cooking for the group of ragtag people that was outside. She would be glad when things settled down and Sesshoumaru left; the demon instilled fear in the villagers and the children of the village were getting restless at the idea of playing with Sango's baby. Also, Rin had to get back to her learning and her practicing if she wanted to succeed.

"Well, it's the only thing I can think about that would make it possible. And yeah, they'll probably get angry with me but they'll get over it. I just really need this." Getting up off of her knees, the 17 year-old bowed in thanks and picked up her yellow backpack. She had to stock up on supplies while she was gone since Inuyasha had basically engulfed all of the ramen she had brought and she also wanted to bring some candy for Shippou. And an apology chocolate bar for Sango would make the both of them feel better about the night's incident.

The young miko left the small hut and headed in the direction of Inuyasha's forest where the Goshinboku and the well resided. Both of those meant the world to her and she was glad they were so close to each other; a reminder of meeting Inuyasha and all of her adventures through time. She caught up to the silver-haired brothers on the grassy path that led to the clearing of the well and shoved her way between them so she was at the front of the trio with a bright smile on her face.

"What's wrong with you?" Inuyasha asked once he saw the overjoyed look on her face. She shook her head and giggled childishly. She knew her behaviour seemed suspicious but she couldn't stop herself. Sesshoumaru, as usual, stayed silent and simply pondered her actions in his complicated mind.

"You'll find out very soon." She winked at her best friend with another laugh and continued their short journey to the Bone Eater's well. Sliding her hand into her pocket, she ran her fingers over the smooth, round surface of part of the object in her possession. They were going to bite her head off, if she even managed the feat she was planning. She could just imagine their reactions as they stopped a few feet away from her way home.

"And very soon turns out to be now!" She exclaimed as she turned to face the brothers and pulled out a beaded necklace from her pocket. It was almost the same as Inuyasha's except this one was made out of darker, almost black round beads and the claw-like beads were gray, leaning towards silver like their hair in the bright sunlight. Inuyasha took a step back with a look of horror. He already had a subjugation necklace; he had no need to get close to another one.

"What are you doing with that thing, Kagome?" The hanyou asked sceptically with furrowed brows, a scowl aimed at the beaded piece of hell in her right palm.

"Well, I was thinking, the only thing different between you and everyone else is your beads. I have this idea that your beads are the reason you can come to my time through the well. So, last time I went home, I asked Kaede to make me another before I left so I could test the theory out with the help of someone else when I came back. Now that I'm going home again, I want to put my theory to the test." She giddily explained, her eyes going back and forth between the expressions that the brothers had painted on their faces. Inuyasha looked a little pale and horrified while Sesshoumaru seemed confused, though he held his passive mask straight.

A few moments went by before anyone said another word. Kagome waited patiently for them to figure it out, hinting at her plan by looking between them and the well. It wasn't that complicated of a plan, really. So when neither of them said a thing, she sighed and rolled her hazel eyes.

"Oh, come on! There are three people in this clearing, two of which hold the ability to cross over. That leaves one being to test out my theory with. Figure it out, people!" She exasperated. A glimmer of understanding passed through the taiyoukai's eyes while his half-brother almost choked on his breath.

"Aw hell, Kagome, you can't really mean it, can you? I mean, Sesshoumaru in the future? There are so many things wrong with that!" Inuyasha spluttered in a rushed out matter. Sesshoumaru turned his gaze sharply to his and lifted a perfectly arched silver eyebrow.

"Expand on your observation, brother."

"First of all, the sound and smell is bad enough for me, I can't imagine how it'd be for you. Second, humans are everywhere and killing 'em isn't an option, 'specially her gramps who's gonna shout at you for bein' a demon and throw some damn sutras around." He insisted, trying to knock some sense into his foolish friend while deterring his brother. There's no possible way Sesshoumaru would want to be in a world composed of only millions of humans. He hated them already, making an exception for only the select few in his pack.

"I will not kill anyone from her home if that is what the miko wishes. Putting up with odours and sounds cannot be as difficult as it has been putting up with you, little brother." Much to Kagome and Inuyasha's amazement, there was actually a note of teasing to accompany his last statement. That alone shut the half-demon up and made Kagome jump with happiness.

"Okay, good! First, you have to jump in before I put the necklace on to make sure you can't pass through on your own." She instructed, taking on a serious composure. Almost hissing at her words that sounded too close to a command for comfort, the inuyoukai raised his chin and leapt gracefully onto the lip of the well.

Kagome nodded in encouragement when he shot her a look of uncertainty and she held her breath when he let himself drop down. Barely three seconds later, he was up in the air and gliding back down to the ground. It never failed to amaze her how fast the brothers could be, Sesshoumaru even more so. She hadn,t even seen him shoot back out of the wooden structure.

"Now, I'm going to put this around your neck," she held the necklace of beads up, letting them dangle from the tips of her index and middle fingers. He simply waited silently for her to proceed. It was all so sudden but he didn't care. How many would kill to get a personal look at what the future held in store for the world? Not that he cared or that he was doing it for that reason. He was simply going along with the little miko's whims, feeling like he owed her for having rushed her into her trap a couple days ago. Sesshoumaru prided himself on not owing anything to anyone, hating to be indebted. Hopefully trusting him enough to take him to her home meant that she was not angry with him. There was nothing worse than having a pack member feel cross with you in inu society.

Kagome stepped up to the tall youkai while Inuyasha simply stood aside lost in thought, waiting for the result. He hoped it wouldn't work as he watched her get up on her tiptoes and him bending his head down slightly so she could reach. With finality, she slipped the enchanted beads around his neck and dropped back onto the balls of her feet. His clawed hand went up to touch the foreign object that was now a part of his person. Could she sit him too, now; the way she did Inuyasha?

"Though technically it works like Inuyasha's subjugation beads and I've picked out a word of subjugation for it, I won't use it. This is strictly for my theory. Now, go on and try crossing over again. If it works, we're right behind you, right Inuyasha?" She asked when she saw that the hanyou was staring distractedly off into space.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Whatever." He grumbled, his triangle ears lying back flat on his head at being caught off guard.

The two watched with baited breath as Sesshoumaru repeated his previous actions, leaping up onto the lip of the well without a sound and dropping inside. To Kagome's satisfaction, they were greeted with the shimmering blue glow that took over each time they went through. She cheered and grabbed Inuyasha's hand, taking them the few steps that separated them from the well and climbing over the rim, waiting for Inuyasha to do the same before jumping in, being engulfed in the same blue light that had surrounded Sesshoumaru just seconds before. She had been right. The key to crossing over was beads infused with her power; beads she could use to subdue them if they tried to disrupt the relative peace of her present.

**Author's note:**

Hey guys, another chapter done for this fic! It seemed pretty boring and rushed to me but it was needed for my storyline and plot to progress. I hope you enjoyed it! Happy holidays all and I wish you all the best! :) -Nat


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for her skill and prowess.**

**Chapter 5**

When Kagome and Inuyasha were on stable ground on her side of the well, the miko found the taiyoukai still standing at the bottom, supporting himself with a hand on the wall. Being that the inside of the well felt cramped, Inuyasha leapt out, leaving the two still at the bottom.

"What's wrong, Sesshoumaru?" She asked, watching as he scrunched up his nose in a rare show of displeasure.

"What is that smell? I have never experienced a scent like it." Laughter resounded from above, a clear sign that Inuyasha had known this would happen. Kagome shook her head before she started climbing the rungs of the ladder her grandfather and brother had installed so she could get out without Inuyasha's help. By the time she'd made it to the top, Sesshoumaru had composed himself and was standing beside his brother.

"Pollution. What you smell is pollution and car fumes and possibly human waste. Give it a few hours and you'll get used to it." Inuyasha explained with an unwelcome hand upon the young lord's shoulder. Taking it back at the glare he received, Inuyasha's grin was there to stay as he slid open the well-shrine doors and made his way toward the Higurashi residence happily. Kagome stuck behind with Sesshoumaru and kept pace with him as he intensely inspected everything his senses relayed to him.

"What is 'car fumes'?" He asked after a minute. Kagome sighed internally, dreading all of the questions that had yet to come. _Like the first time around was any fun, _she mused bitterly, _I might not have thought everything through after all. _"Miko," the inuyoukai broke her out of her musings.

"Well, a car is a mode of transportation that works because of the mechanical engine inside of it. You put gas inside of it and it makes it go. It rolls on four wheels and is steered with a circle steering-wheel that you grip with your hands. When a car is on, the gas inside is burned away and it releases fumes, or gas, into the air. Car fumes." She tried explaining before they finally crossed the threshold of her home, knowing he wouldn't fully understand. It surprised her when he did't further question it but she happily let it slide, not looking forward to the question game.

"Mama?" The miko called out, slipping off her shoes and motioning for Sesshoumaru to do the same. He grudgingly obliged and followed after her in his socks.

"In the kitchen dear!" Ms. Higurashi answered, already laughing as Inuyasha picked up Buyo and started messing with the chubby cat as per usual. Kagome and the youkai at her heels joined the two in the kitchen, almost surprised to find her grandfather in there too with sutras in his hand.

"Don't do it, old man." Inuyasha warned absently as he pulled at the cat's paws. "My brother is much more dangerous than I am."

Kagome rolled her pretty eyes at the scene and patiently waited for her gramps to put away his sutras. Once the useless things were out of sight, she grabbed at Sesshoumaru's sleeve and pulled him further into the room.

"Sesshoumaru, it's nice to meet you." Ms. Higurashi bowed politely at the young lord and he returned the favour with a slight nod of the head. He did not bow to those below him, even if in this time he was not the lord of the west. Or, was he? Would he live to see this age on his own time? It was only five hundred years away; an amount of time he'd already lived past. 500 years was nothing to a taiyoukai if he didn't get slain. "I'm Ms. Higurashi but you can call me Hitomi if you would like." She smiled softly at the tall demon lord before resuming her task of making tea.

"Ji-chan, say hello to Sesshoumaru, will ya?" Kagome saw him open his mouth and cut him off before he could stop. "And no digs about his origins, race or any other disrespectful comment you're thinking of making. In the Sengoku Jidai, Sesshoumaru is the lord of the west."

With as much reluctance as an old man could show, her grandpa bowed his head and gruffly greeted the tall inu, making Inuyasha laugh. Kagome ignored it all in favour of looking at the clock. Souta would only be back from school in another 3 hours. That left a whole afternoon of boredom. Or so she thought. Half an hour and a lot of curt words later, Sesshoumaru was sitting uncomfortably on one of the kitchen chairs and telling Ms. Higurashi of the curse placed on her only daughter while Inuyasha loudly complained at the video-game he was playing in the living-room. Through all of that, Kagome was trying to talk to Ayumi over the phone while her gramps grumpily grabbed the broom from the closet to go sweep outside.

"Oh my," Ms. Higurashi brought a hand to her heart. "Could you recite the curse word for word to me? There could be something about it in a book." With a worried glance toward her eldest child, she thanked Kami that her father or Souta didn't hear this conversation.

"_Dreams and realities become unclear, what is unreal is only as real as it appears. When cared for faces leave your memory, questions rise of their authenticity. Paranoia and fear will climb the ladder of your mind, logic and sanity left far behind. Desire to figure real from fake a main ingredient in newly acquired blood thirst, only the death caused by your hand will ring true to the one who is cursed. Mind lost like a wall taken down brick by agonizing brick, even the most fervent encouragements won't do the trick. Only one may save you yet, or may you forever be nothing more than a killer pet."_

As Ms. Higurashi stared on at the taiyoukai in deep thought, Kagome squealed over the phone. "No, it's fine, I'll meet you there. Thanks Ayumi!" In the living-room, Inuyasha's gruff voice let out a, "Damn it all!" And outside, Sesshoumaru could hear the man of the house mutter to himself about killer demons and their unwanted presence in his life. The whole experience, coupled with the sound of the cars outside and the airplane flying overhead were a great aggravation to his ears. Without a word, he stood and walked over to Kagome who was hastily scribbling something down on a piece of paper with a thing called a pencil. She turned and jumped when she saw him there, so accustomed to his aura that she couldn't even feel it anymore.

"Hey Sesshoumaru, what's up?" She asked before folding the little paper in half and stuffing it into her pocket. He blankly stared at her as she contemplated his facial markings with a thoughtful expression. A few seconds ticked by before she nodded to herself and smiled, her glee back with a vengeance.

"Mama, do you have any concealer? I'd like to bring Sesshoumaru along with us when Inuyasha and I go to the store but he can't actually go out in public with those colourful marks on his face." Ms. Higurashi, having composed herself and determined to look up Feudal legends while they were out, nodded and stood. She made her way upstairs to get her makeup from her room, happy that she had light toned foundation because Sesshoumaru's skin was fair and flawless.

Inuyasha joined his brother and his best friend in the kitchen then, having given up on the impossible ninja game. He swung his arm around Kagome's shoulders and she leaned on him, the action as familiar as having him in her home. She picked up a cap from the counter top by the doorway and he clucked his tongue in annoyance at the ugly hat.

"Really? Why can't your people just accept my ears? That little girl a while back loved them so much she made a drawing of them for the TV guys." The hanyou complained as he watched Kagome motion for Sesshoumaru to sit at the table once Ms. Higurashi came back with her compact of powdered foundation. Once the taiyoukai was settled, the miko slid away from Inuyasha's one-armed embrace and took the makeup from her mother.

"Now, now Inuyasha, you know why you have to wear the hat. People are afraid of what they aren't familiar with and it wouldn't do to have them all panicking while you guys are trying to shop. Crowds would form, people would scream, you could get arrested. It's a very simple situation." The matriarch of the household chuckled quietly at the scene unfolding in her head and simply left her daughter with the two silver-haired brothers so she could go do the laundry. A mother's duty stopped for nothing; not even a powerful youkai who was about to get his makeup done while his foul-mouthed brother complained about wearing a hat to cover his dog ears.

Kagome opened up the compact and dabbed the little pad into the powder before bringing it up to the taiyoukai's face. However, before she could actually reach his cheek with it, his deadly hand was wrapped around her small wrist to stop her. With a glare, he tried to make her back off but she only waited for him to release her. He didn't.

"Come on Sesshoumaru, it's only makeup! All it does is cover things we don't want other people to see. It's totally harmless!"

With great reluctance, a little bit of growling from the taiyoukai and a few amused giggles from Kagome later, his markings were finally covered. Stepping back from her masterpiece, Kagome gasped when he opened his bright golden eyes. She could barely believe how attractive he looked without his markings; though he was much more with them. She had thought that the disappearance of his marking would have ruined his beauty but she had been wrong. So completely wrong.

"Stop ogling at my brother and get ready! We have to go to the store." Inuyasha grumbled as he swept past his best friend, rolling his eyes at the look on her face. _Wait a minute,_ he thought to himself, _she used to look at me like that… _

With a gleam in her eye and a flush to her cheeks, Kagome ran up to her room and quickly got changed into a comfortable yet cute outfit; a skirt and a sweater with some knee high socks. Before long, she was out the front door and in her year, watching the inu brothers glare at each other while simultaneously trying to ward off her grandpa who was having a go at both of them with his useless sutras. It was all a great source of amusement for the Higurashi women until Sesshoumaru's hand reached for his Bakusaiga.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the phone, men! Ji-chan, stop trying to kill my friends! Sesshoumaru, don't even think about pulling out your sword in this era! Inuyasha, uhh, keep doing nothing!" Kagome stepped in, placing herself between the strong youkai and her frail grandfather. Ms. Higurashi took it as her cue to grasp her father's arm and coerce him into the house. With a huff and her hands on her hips, the miko lifted her chin and started marching towards the arch and steps that lead away from her home and into the city.

Surprisingly enough, Sesshoumaru didn't ask that many questions. He kept to himself most of the trip, silently taking it all in and trying to work out the logics on his own. Everything anyone wanted was just there, waiting to be bought. There was no travelling, negotiating or buying multiple objects to make the finished product you want yourself. These stores were perhaps one of the weirdest things about the future. That and the lack of modesty people had. The young women who walked around with their assets nearly bear for everyone to see while they chatted on portable devices about their recent hook-ups and their next victims. What also made him uneasy was how completely at ease Inuyasha was with it all, as if he'd grown up into it like the miko. And then there was the very open, obviously lusting stares directed at the brothers by females of all ages and even many men.

"Ooh, I almost forgot!" Kagome stopped in her steps a few feet after they left the food store. "I have to meet up with Ayumi at the Fro-Yo place!" And then she turned on her heels, taking the inu brothers and their sensitive hearing right into a shop that smelled like fruit and teen spirit. The taiyoukai positively hated it. The feeling intensify when Kagome's friend made herself known, taking over and dragging the miko along. Not one to take nonsense for long, Sesshoumaru turned to his brother with knotted brows.

"How much longer must I suffer through this endless torture?" Not one to usually voice out his dread or be over dramatic, the demon lord surprised his brother with those words. Sadly, Inuyasha was feeling the strain of the outing as well.

"Keh, I dunno. Go ask her yourself. And use her actual name, not that miko bullshit if her friend is in hearing distance. Nobody 'xcept her family knows 'bout her adventures in our time or about her powers." The hanyou casually warned, crossing his bag-covered arms over his chest. Reluctantly, Sesshoumaru did just as his little brother said, anxious to get it all over with so they could return to the past and get some answers.

Quietly stalking over to the chattering teenage duo, the great inu patiently stood at the priestess' side until she broke the conversation so he could speak. Too bad she completely ignored his presence and kept on gossiping as if he was not standing right beside her. With more irritation than he dared to show in a place packed with so many humans, he broke his silence to get her attention.

"Kagome…" It was uncertain; his mouth and mind not used to addressing her as so, even if it was her name. She'd always just been "the miko", except that one time he asked the undead priestess about her during the whole Menomaru/Hyouga ordeal. That pathetic moth wanna-be.

"Oh!" Kagome startled, almost as if she hadn't noticed him at all. "Sesshoumaru, is something wrong?" She directed the question at the tall, silver-haired male at her right shoulder, her chin lifting to look up at him from her seat across one of her only modern-day friends. _Gosh, I've been asking him that a lot lately. It's almost as if I'm worried about him. Well, I sort of am but I'm making it so obvious that the guy probably thinks I'm a meddling girlfriend or something._

"Is your business done here? This environment is not very…comfortable and we really must take care of other things. Things that are more important than," He searched his jumbled mind for the end-tail of conversation he'd picked up from the pair while standing there. "Territory class and attractive boys." The words were uncomfortable on his tongue and he resisted the urge to grimace.

"You mean geometry," The miko laughed, outright amused at his attempt to understand what hey were talking about. _Technically, it is a class about territory,_ she conceded in her mind only, not giving the stoic dog any slack.

"Speaking of cute boys, are you Inuyasha's brother?" The other girl inquired, taking in his similar hair and eye color. Completely ignoring the strange human, he turned his gaze back to Kagome and squinted his eyes just barely. He wanted an answer. Either way, he was going to leave soon, whether she'd be showing him the way back willingly or Inuyasha would be playing the modern-era guide.

"Okay, okay, fine. Jeez, who knew you could be this much of a downer." Kagome mumbled as she turned back to Ayumi to finally retrieve the notes she was supposed to get in the first place. "Sesshy is a party pooper." She smiled a wide, fake smile at Ayumi with her words, aware of the sudden change in the demon at her side caused by them. Oh, she'd be getting it as soon as they were back at her place. _First she smears powder on my face and now she dares to humiliate me with words. Either she forgets who is truly alpha or the curse is really toying with her already unstable sanity. No matter, she will not be let off for her transgressions on my person._

That's how the teenager found herself sitting at her kitchen table with her mother, her best friend, her little brother and a silently pissed taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru was done waiting around while she frolicked in her time. He was responsible for dragging her into the damned witch's curse and he was about ready to get it broken so he could stop feeling the…the _guilt _in his chest. He hadn't felt guilt since…since a long time ago and the feeling was not welcome.

"Dear," Ms. Higurashi broke the tense silence at the table. They'd all been sitting there wordlessly for nearly ten minutes and she was feeling about on the same line as the older inu. She'd found an old story; a story of a curse place on a young priestess, a curse easily broken if all the parties played nice. "Who do you love?" The question caught her daughter off guard, a red hue rising on her cheeks.

"Mama, what are you getting to? You know I don't…" The miko almost choked on her words when Inuyasha scoffed and mumbled about that whole situation between them having passed. Kagome felt entirely the same but it was still strange to hear someone say it out loud.

"Not in that way, Kagome. I found something while you were out and I think this could help. Who do you love? Just name some people and I'll figure the rest out, honey." Ms. Higurashi reassured, a soft smile on her lips. If she could find it, that one name her daughter would catch on, she could help. She just needed to know who lied where in the mess that had befallen her eldest child.

"Well, uhh, I love Shippou. I love Sango and Miroku and Kirara. I love…Inuyasha," She listed off, meriting a "Love ya too, brat," from the previously mentioned hanyou. "I love you, mom. Souta and Ji-chan, too. I love Yuka, Eri and Ayumi. I love Kaede-baa-chan. I love Rin and Kohaku and even Mushin and Hachi. I love Ginta, Hakkaku and even Kouga in a strange type of player-friend way." She continued to list off thoughtfully, not yet giving Ms. Higurashi what she was looking for. "I love Jinenji, I love all the half-demon children we met with on Horai Island." She paused then, uncertain, before swatting her hand in a defeated yet playful manner. "And heck, I'll put the big dog out of his misery. I love Sesshoumaru too, despite his closed off nature and unapproachable way of holding himself. Though, I won't fall to his feet like Jaken does anytime soon." The young miko laughed then, a visual of the eager-to-please toad entering her mind. Jaken was lovable too, if you looked past his grumpy exterior when he wasn't grovelling at Sesshoumaru's feet.

"You do not love me, miko. You are too quick to use the word, as you are too quick to trust. You confuse the sentiment with affection when the two are worlds apart." The taiyoukai spoke up, breaking out of his fuming silence. He was uncomfortable with the human emotion being associated with him. _The emotion may not be exclusively humane, _he thought bitterly, _but it is one I have no need for. She misplaces her heart indeed._

"Hey, shut up ya stiff bastard," Here a strict reprimand from Ms. Higurashi gave the half-demon short pause. "Not because ya don't like it that you gotta brush it off. For some unimaginable reason, some people actually love you. Keh, don't know how that happened, but ya gotta deal with it. I know you love some people too, ya ass." Kagome turned to Inuyasha with a soft smile after his short speech and almost let out an awed sound at the way he was trying to protect her and her feelings. How considerate.

"Inuyasha, tell me, in a sort of strained way, don't you love your brother too?" The priestess wondered out loud at his expense, not quite willing to give up on the mean teasing of their past. Besides, he could lie all he wanted, but she knew there was some love in his heart for the brother he never truly had yet was always there, in the shadows.

"Keh, like I said, I don't understand why people actually love the passive freak," the hanyou grumbled, shooting an uneasy glare at his older brother to catch any sort of reaction. "But yeah, he's my brother. I'm not crazy 'bout the guy but I wouldn't want him dead either. He's the only blood I got left and that merits him some kind of affection, I guess." _Even if he spent a year trying to kill me and take my Tetsusaiga when he couldn't even hold it. Asshole._

"You are a fool, little brother. If you think I feel the same way-"

"I ain't lookin' for no damn love confession from you! I think you've properly established in the past how ya feel 'bout bein' related to a half-breed and I don't care one bit about it! So shut the hell up and just…" The red-cloaked hanyou suddenly sprung to his feet. "Why are we even talkin' about this? This is stupid." And he was gone before anyone could say anything.

"Oh, Kami," Kagome whispered, loud enough for the other three to hear anyway. "I never knew. How did I not know?" She worried her bottom lip, her eyes wide in worry. Was Inuyasha really that messed up over the fact that Sesshoumaru didn't hold him dearly in his heart? _I mean, it was never a secret. There has to be more to it than that…_

If she knew anything about the inuhanyou, it was his knack for running away from his feelings. If she was bold enough to assume so, he was gone farther than just outside. By now he'd already be back in the Sengoku Jidai, sitting in the branches of the Goshinboku with that blank expression he got when he didn't want to feel anything.

_A good bath, a night of studying and a refill of my backpack; that's all I need. Then, I'll find him and help him sort those unresolved feelings out. All the guy wanted was family…and now he has it but not in the way he feels he deserves. Poor Inuyasha…_

**Author's note:**

Hi, yes, it's me and I am alive. I had a lot of work this week and could only fit writing in the spare time I had at night before I fell comatose for a few hours. For those reasons, my writing may seem rushed and lacking detail. I strongly apologize for that! But, but, buuuut….things of importance pertaining to the spell will actually start happening next chapter! Yayy, no more stalling with little fluff scenes and useless dialogue! Alright, that's it for now, I'm going to get some "Zs" so I can actually be productive at work tomorrow! Stay beautiful –Nat :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for literally changing my life with her wonderful stories.**

**Chapter 6**

"_Stop watching me, Sesshoumaru."_

"_Hn. This Sesshoumaru does as he pleases."_

"_I'm trying to study and your glare is distracting me,"_

"_Hn."_

"_Get off of my bed! That's where _I _sleep."_

"_I'm serious Sesshoumaru, move or I will get on anyways and cuddle with your pelt. Try me, I don't care how scary that glare you're giving me is."_

"_Oww, did you just shove me off my own bed? Move over or go home you big, grouchy dog!"_

"_I will purify you, all jokes aside."_

"_Shut your mouth and sleep, miko. You are disturbing me."_

"_YOU KNOW WHAT YOU OVERGROWN PUPPY-"_

"_Kagome, dear, why are you shouting this late at night?"_

Stomping her way towards the well-shrine with a blank faced taiyoukai in tow, Kagome could barely hold in the grunts caused by her lack of sleep and the fall from her bed to the floor of her bedroom. She spent a total of an hour studying before giving up under his scrutinizing stare and decided to go to sleep. That had been a good idea, until she realized that he was taking up nearly her whole bed. And he didn't even sleep! Then, when she was packing her bag in the morning, he kept asking about stuff. She was tired, grumpy and her nerves were frayed. Coupled with her mother's encouraging words that morning, she felt like crawling in a hole and staying there for weeks.

"_You'll be fine dear. Maybe all you need is to get to know him. Get him to open up and everything will sort itself out." _That was a joke. Getting that stubbornly passive youkai to open up and show emotion was as impossible as breathing under water for her. Totally not going to happen.

"Never again. Nope. No more time travelling for the puppy dog. Too much stress." She mumbled to herself, aware on the perimeter of her mind only that he could hear her with those demon ears of his. But she didn't care one bit as she threw herself over the lip of the well with her heavy backpack on her shoulders and her most comfortable jeans and t-shirt on.

She cared even less when she surfaced in the Sengoku Jidai and he'd beat her there, even if he had been behind her. Her caring for the matter dissipated even more when they found Inuyasha standing there waiting for them with a bloodied pelt, not unlike Sesshoumaru's, in his clenched fist. The hanyou was panting, covered in sweat and blood. He also had tears in his eyes. Kagome forgot everything as she took a step towards her best friend. He threw the crimson covered white pelt to the ground and faced his brother instead.

"Guess who else just became an orphan." He stated more than asked in a defeated tone before falling to hi knees. She ran to him under the dark clouds of what promised to be a rainy day and knelt also, wrapping her arm's around the half-demon's waist.

"Inuyasha, what did you _do?_" She stressed as she felt him shaking in her embrace. With the amount of blood soaking his haori and hakama, her comfortable clothes were damned. She mourned them in a silent corner of her mind as she concentrated on the current situation at hand.

"I killed the bitch. I went to her palace with the intent of talkin' to her but it just," his voice cracked here, proof of his emotional distress. "It got out of hand. She told me things, bad things." With a shudder, he wrapped his own arms around the priestess' shoulders. In reaction to the returned embrace, Kagome tightened her hold, only for the tips of her fingers to graze an object protruding from his back. She felt around with a frown in her brow until morbid realization hit her. The hilt of a knife. Her best friend had a knife in his back!

"Inuyasha-" She panicked, her hands flying away from the penetrating weapon.

"I know. But it doesn't matter." He insisted, tightening his hold on her.

"Yes it does! There's a knife in your back! Let me get it out!" She exclaimed in horror, trying to push back from his embrace. Her efforts were in vain, only causing him to bury his face into her shoulder. There, she felt his tears and stopped her struggles.

"I deserve it, Kagome. But she deserved it too. It was her; she was the one who murdered my mother. She killed my mother, she cursed my best friend, she insulted our worth and then spat at the name of her own son. So I killed her, but only after she attacked first." He tried to explain as best he could with as little words as possible, aware that his full-fledged brother was approaching slowly with death in his eyes. The promise of certain death at a slow and torturous pace. The hanyou shuddered, burying his face right back into Kagome's hair.

"Get away from him, miko." The murderous taiyoukai warned as he stalked closer and closer, stopping when the toe of his boot connected with her heel. She shook her head desperately.

"I won't let you hurt him. I can't. I'd rather you kill me than him." Her defiance broke out through her fog of worry and grump, aware that he'd kill his own brother in a second if she stepped back. She couldn't let that happen, not to Inuyasha. After all those years of solitude, rejection and pain, he deserved to live a better life, not die.

"Don't be so foolish, little miko. The half-breed has clouded your judgement by affecting your human emotions. Move. Now." The threat was clear, his menacing voice deeper than usual. The half-breed had actually managed to kill his lady mother; the psychotic bitch that had killed Rin once before. If anything, he was glad she was dead. He would never admit it but he was angry with himself. The hanyou had ended her life, a feat he'd failed to do multiple times throughout his lifetime. The bond between mother and pup, though faint, had prevented him from succeeding. Yet the whelp had done it in his place. It was supposed to be _him, _not _Inuyasha._

"She told me why she cursed you, Kagome." The sentence that escaped Inuyasha's lips gave Sesshoumaru pause. So the whelp hadn't left without getting information. How unusually practical of him…

"_She's an unworthy ningen, too weak to be in my foolish son's company. If I'd had it my way, all of you would have come and all of you would be suffering the same fate. Hopefully with this curse Sesshoumaru will realize just how useless and unconventional humans are and stop holding company with them. It's really a disgrace. In the end, he'll either abandon her or kill her. I know my son and he is not one to endure such inconveniences." _She had said to him when they'd faced off in her throne room. _"He's making the same mistake Touga made," _Here she referenced the Inu no Taisho to drive the nail in the coffin. _"I don't need any more half-breeds running around with his blood in their veins. Your pathetic, weak self is enough, hanyou."_

"Petty words coming from a hypocrite, no?" Sesshoumaru's voice broke through the long silence that had followed Inuyasha's recap of his dead mother's words. A female inuyoukai who'd been pushed aside for a human woman and a hanyou child had been visited in her own bed by a human male. A human male who'd…

"She was pregnant. I didn't know until it was too late. If I'd had a sharper nose, better ears, I could have figured it out. But I didn't. Her layers were so thick, it was impossible to know." The half-demon admitted his fault. "If I'd been a full-fledged inu, I'd have known on the spot. Right, Sesshoumaru? Ya knew already, huh?" There was a note of defeat, a sort of regret. Not for his actions but for his weaker blood. His weaker senses.

"Inuyasha, shut up! Don't you dare go into that whole demon phase again! You're perfect the way you are. I love you as a half-demon, okay? I don't want you to change. I don't even want you to want to change, got it?" Kagome's words, as always, made him feel guilty. He didn't want to upset his best friend. He loved her and he wanted her to be proud of him. He wanted to forget his fantasy of ever becoming a full-fledged youkai but he just couldn't. Kami know he tried…

"Inuyasha, I will tell you something that may hold importance to you and you will listen closely because this Sesshoumaru does not repeat himself. However, you will let the miko take you to Kaede's and heal you first."

At the quiet yet firm command, the three picked themselves up and headed to their temporary home in Edo. Upon the initial panic at the sighting of their hanyou friend stumbling around with a knife in his back, he was escorted inside Kaede's hut and laid on his stomach, the knife pulled out and his wound bandaged. The pain didn't stop though, the reason becoming evident to the two priestesses and the two inu.

"Poison; should'a known the bitch wouldn't just go down like that." He chuckled darkly, his ears flat against his silver hair as he let Kagome fret over it. She could do a lot of things with her miko powers but removing that sort of poison? She'd never managed it before. It wouldn't stop her from trying though while Sesshoumaru reluctantly explained some things to his little brother.

_An inuyoukai, a pure-blooded one, falls in love only once in their lifetime. For father, that was your human mother. Like all other inu that are born for political reasons, I received no affection from mother or father while I was young. I was trained to be a strong warrior and a cunning tactician. I was told that when I took over as lord, I'd mate a pretty inu female that had whichever quality I lacked more of, whether it be strength, speed, agility, intelligence, leadership, elegance. You are free of these expectations and have been since birth. You have the freedom to mate who you please and live the life you wish to lead. Father loved you and mother so much that he threw his life away for you both. Mother was jealous of the importance he placed upon you when it was I that was to be his heir. I am pure-blooded, I am strong, I am intelligent and I can control my beast on a level most inu cannot. I was meant to be the priority, like she was for having birthed me. But father did not care; he chose you. He saw something in Izayoi that he did not find in any of the inu bitches that surrounded him in his everyday life. And when I met her, I understood it. It was the passion, the warmth, the understanding that only a human woman could give. In a way, your mother became the mother every pup deserved yet only you would get. She became the mother I never had and the woman my mother could never be. With little to no guidance and training, you grew to be strong. You have the brashness father had and the heart your mother had; the brute strength and the raw emotion. You, Inuyasha, are the perfect mix. When Izayoi was pregnant, you were all father spoke of. "The babe, our pup, I cannot wait to see him grow," He'd say. He was so certain that you'd be a boy, too. "With a mother like he will have, he will be the perfect man one day. He will be able to protect, provide and love. He will be named Inuyasha, and he will be your little brother, Sesshoumaru. He'll make you proud, you shall see."_

"But I've failed him. I've failed them both. Hell, I failed you too, ya bastard. It took me a year to accomplish what you did with the Tetsusaiga in one swing and the sword ain't even yours; ain't meant to be held by you. How many people've died because I wasn't strong enough? I'm easily fooled and I can't even read people well enough to give 'em the support they need. Kagome is a perfect example of how much of a disappointment I am." The hanyou was trying to hold in his emotions when he spoke but the new moon was to be upon them that night and his human half was taking over. Or maybe that was just him being his weak self? He could only lie to himself so much when it came to his own strength of heart and mind.

"Hey, what do you mean I'm a perfect example?!" The young miko tugged on a strand of his knotted silver hair, irritated at his own self-evaluation. He was one of the strongest people she'd ever met! How had she never noticed how much he hated himself? He was always so cocky and stubborn and steady as a rock. The rock that held her steady through all of their adventures, the rock that taught her about heartbreak and friendship and self-importance. The rock that taught her that with just a little bit of selfless compassion, you could do just about anything you put your mind to. Where was her best friend and who was this man controlling his body and words?

"You almost died so many times because I couldn't even protect you! I've made you cry more times than I can count and I've seen you walk away so many times that I almost thought you'd never come back each and every one of 'em!" Still lying on his stomach, the white hot pain spreading steadily through his veins, the inuhanyou gave up on his vain attempts at holding it back and let his tears come out. If he was going to die, he was going to get it all off of his chest. Screw honourable deaths!

"But you came through every time! I'm here, I'm alive and I'm whole! Besides, as much as it hurt back then, I needed all of that heartbreak and pain! It made me stronger, made me who I am today. I have more control because of it." She was crying now too, her brown eyes a reflection of his golden ones. He was dying and admitting all of his negative views of himself and she couldn't do anything to stop him. "And you always came back to get me, always apologized, even if it wasn't with your words. You're such an idiot, Inuyasha." She finally blubbered as she took hold of his clawed hand. With his humanity taking over in less than twelve hours, there was no way his demonic healing would have time to do anything to prevent hi death.

"And you're my idiot, stupid." He finally conceded, seeing the pain his words were causing her. If he could do anything to make her happy, he'd do it; even if it meant shutting his big mouth and accepting her words for what they were.

The two best friends fell silent, their hands clasped together for what felt like dear life. Finally, when the sun had started setting and Inuyasha had lost consciousness from the pain, Kaede and Sesshoumaru had managed to convince Kagome into a breath of fresh air. Then she'd realized that there was no sun setting this day because the sky was covered in clouds and crying with her. She hadn't known because she was too focused on her soul mate's impending death, cooped up inside Kaede's small hut all morning and afternoon. So now Sesshoumaru walked with her, always a step behind her and to her left. Silent support, it seemed. By morning, the hanyou would be dead.

"Tell me, miko," The taiyoukai held a stony expression that for some reason seemed even more blank than usual, if that was even possible. She slightly pivoted her head to glance at him and waited for his next words. "Were you ever in love with him?"

She had been expecting many things to come out of his mouth…except for that. Sesshoumaru asking about an emotion he'd viewed as weakness and idiocy his whole life? No way.

"I…I thought I was. I thought he was the only one I'd ever feel that way for and that we'd spend our lives together." She admitted quietly, turning back to face the deserted path they were walking. All of the villagers were inside their homes, keeping warm and dry on such a wet day, leaving them to be the only two roaming souls. Rin and Shippou were no doubt at Miroku and Sango's hut, the small one they'd live in until their bigger one was built. They were planning on having a big family. And Sesshoumaru, with his regal attire, his perfect features, his last blood relative dying and the necklace hidden under his kimono, he distantly hoped that Rin wouldn't choose to stay here when she was grown. And if she did, he'd leave without a word. Oh, how he suddenly felt the impending loss in his chest. "He's my soul mate." She finished in a whisper, giving the great demon pause.

"Are soul mates not the ones you do spend your life with; the ones who give you a family and make you happy?" The question came out with uncertainty. _Kami,_ Kagome thought to herself, _you really don't know anything when it comes to what a soul feels, do you Sesshoumaru?_

"Well, it's like a best friend, but more. It's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. It's someone who makes you a better person. Actually, they don't make you a better person, you do that to yourself because they inspire you. A soul mate is someone you carry with you forever. It's the one person who knew you and accepted you and believed in you before anyone else did or when no one else would. And no matter what happens, you'll always love them. Nothing can change that. Make sense?" She tried her best to explain to this man who refused to love that love came in many different forms. It was up to him to decide if he understood or even believed her but she knew she was right and that's all that mattered.

Sesshoumaru contemplated her words as they resumed their slow walk under the rain. They were both soaked and she'd probably catch a cold but he couldn't find it in himself to force her back inside. She needed the fresh air; she needed to be away from that hut for a little. She was loosing one of the most important people that had a place in her heart. If she spoke the truth before, did he really have a place in her heart too? And did he actually want to have a place in her heart? Did he care to have one?

"With everything happening, I'd think you'd have tracked me down by now, young lord of the west." A voice stilled the duo from their gentle march, a voice Sesshoumaru had not heard in over a century. The voice of a witch, a good one, who dug only the best out of people. She was the one people went to when they needed favours; he one who demanded specific good deeds in exchange for her services. The fact that she had went to them instead of the other way around spoke volumes for she never left her sanctuary. Rarely taken seriously for resembling a young, teenage human girl, she kept to herself in her natural meadow.

"Masuyo, what bring you out of your usual environment?" The question was cautious, unusually cautious for a powerful demon such as Sesshoumaru, the killing perfection. He was cautious around none, always straight forward about his lack of caring. Kagome was instantly wary.

"What if," The witch revealed herself then. She looked no older than 14 with her slightly rounded face, shoulder length brown hair and striking orange eyes. Only the ones who knew better were aware that her age ranged around the millennia and not the dozen as she appeared. "I cured the hanyou, broke the curse that is subtly eating away at dear Kagome's sanity and even…what if I fixed the problem the taijiya is having with her pregnancy?" A sly smile spread on her pretty pink lips. Kagome took a step back, though it was hope and not wariness that had pushed her body to budge.

"Sango is having problems with her pregnancy?" The modern miko asked then, not having known that her friend was suffering.

"The slayer is having twins but one of them is very active in the womb and has managed to entangle their umbilical cords around their necks. If nothing is done, both of them will be born dead." Masuyo explained, glad that the abilities of the oracle had been passed down to her along with sorcery. Her parents really did make a strange pair; a powerful oracle and a wise wizard. She'd inherited both traits, luckily.

"Is there…Is there something I can do to save my friends?" Sesshoumaru glared at Kagome but she ignored him. He seemed to not want to make a deal with the witch but Kagome was a selfless being with a big heart. She almost hadn't heard the part about breaking her curse, focused on the well-being of the ones she truly cared for.

"The pup…the one who was barely through half of its term that got its promise of life taken away…"

"You mean my mother's pup? The half-breed?" Sesshoumaru cut in sharply, aware that she could be talking of no other pup that they would have possibly known about. Kagome perked up at the idea of also being able to save the baby who'd done nothing to merit it's death.

"My negotiations are mainly with Kagome, young lord. Priestess, in exchange for Inuyasha's life, the lives of your 'sister's twins and for your own curse to be broken, would you be willing to carry Kimiko's pup the rest of it's term, birth it and raise it as your own? You would be saving four lives and restoring your sanity permanently." The proposition was crazy, one Kagome and Sesshoumaru had never thought to hear in their lifetimes. But the young miko hesitated all of two seconds.

"Yes, of course. I'd do anything for them, all of them. Please."

"Then it is decided. All of your friends will be fine, their children perfectly healthy, and you will have a wonderful pup of your own. The dna will be changed so that the pup, though still an inuhanyou, will be compatible with you in blood. It will be your child, as if you'd conceived it yourself, and the father shall be none other than…" Kagome held her breath, having a gut feeling of what was to come next. If she was the human parent, then the father would have to be a full-fledged inuyoukai. She only knew one of those and he was standing petrified only two feet away from her. _Sorry, my overgrown puppy, _she thought with little to no actual regret.

"Sesshoumaru."

**Author's note:**

So, uhh, yeah. That's what it is, folks. Don't worry, whenever this story comes to its end, (which is in a long while, I promise) I'll go back and tweak it to make it much less…I don't know…rushed and botched? Whatever, I know what I mean! Haha leave a review if you feel so inclined and stick around for following drama! I hope this year brings all of you happiness, health and good fortune! Until next time, -Nat :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for being such an inspiration.**

**Chapter 7**

"Uhg, this week has been hell." Kagome sighed as she and Sango settled into the hot spring closest to Edo. For the week, the young miko's body had been catching up on the progress already made by the pregnancy before, making her sick and unpleasant to be around. Kimiko had already been 3 months along and there was another 3 left, if Izayoi's pregnancy for Inuyasha was anything to go on. Hanyou pregnancies were always different, the duration depending on the growth of the pup. Sango was about 8 months along and Kagome was about half as round with child as she was. The prospect was scary.

"Well, you have caught up on 3 months within a week. The sickness and mood fluctuation is expected." Sango tried to tell her sister as they passed around the bottle of organic shampoo. It was sunset and Inuyasha had gracefully accompanied them to the spring, made a fire so they could still see once the sun set and then left them until they finished, waiting for them to call from hearing range yet where he could not see them. Inuyasha was a steady support for the pregnant females, more so than even Miroku for Sango at times.

"But it sucks! And Sesshoumaru's just been avoiding me since I made the deal! Like I get that I made a choice without asking him first but come on, he could at least let me explain or something. I would apologize if I could." Kagome huffed in irritation and focused on lathering her obsidian hair in the sweet, lily scented shampoo she'd brought for them from home. It was safe to say that her mother was happily surprised of the pregnancy, ji-chan…not so much. He wanted to purify whichever 'disgusting dog' that had planted his seed in her. He certainly did not believe that she was still a virgin.

"It's understandable to some level, Kagome. He's going to be the father of a child he never actually sired in the first place. How would you feel? His power and genes will be passed down to a being he didn't help make in the least…" Kagome sighed before they both ducked down to rinse their hair. Once they resurfaced, they got to work on carefully applying abundant amounts of conditioner onto each other's manes, Sango first because it would take her longer to get it out.

"So what? I'm the one who will be giving birth to it while actually never having had sex before! Don't get me wrong, I'll love that baby with all of my heart but I didn't participate in making it either yet you don't see me brooding about it!" Sango shook her head and heaved a sigh. Her motherly instincts were surfacing and all she wanted to do was hug Kagome and pet her hair. Too bad Kagome was in a 'nobody touches me' sort of mood the whole day.

"Don't worry, you guys will figure it out. Just give him some time. He is fathering a baby that was originally supposed to be his sibling…actually, that's weird to say. Pretend I didn't say that." But it was too late; Kagome was laughing. Her mood swings ranged from laughing at the worst moments to crying over the smallest incidents. Even Shippou was keeping his distance from her hysterics.

The women finished their calming bath and called for Inuyasha to escort them back once they were dressed and the sun had set. They made it all the way to Sango and Miroku's hut before Inuyasha split to go eat with Kaede and the twins. Sango was about to go in and rest her tired feet when she realized something.

"Kagome, I forgot my obi by the spring…" A worried look crossed the taijiya's face and Kagome quickly threw her hands up with a soft smile on her face.

"Don't fret, Sango, I'll go get it for you. I'll be back in a few. You just go inside and rest; you need it with the babies so close to coming." Before Sango could object to the miko wandering to the spring alone in the dark and call upon their half-demon friend to go retrieve it, Kagome was going. She was barely a silhouette in the pitch background when Sango gave up and went inside to wait.

Kagome happily sauntered the way they'd just come from while steadily singing a quiet tune to herself. Feeling a little reminiscent, she found herself singing the choir song she'd sang at the school festival her friends had roped her into that one time. That hadn't ended so well, what with Inuyasha destroying their auditorium with his Wind Scar…

The closer she got, she started to notice things. Like the fact that their little fire had been rekindled and the small flames were bathing the scene it faint light. She thought it strange since they had definitely put it out correctly. Upon further inspection, she found there was a reason it was lit back up. Once she'd passed the large rock that shielded the water from initial view, she found that a certain someone had his haori open and was untying his armour, his fur pelt already at his feet. And finally, when she could make out his face, she saw that he was looking straight at her for the first time in a whole week. They had been getting close before all of that too.

Trying to ignore his smouldering gaze, Kagome looked around the ground where their stuff had been but found no trace of Sango's rolled-up obi. She turned her eyes to the flat rock where they had spread out their kimono earlier and her glare zeroed in on the forgotten piece of fabric. _Ah ha! _She thought in triumph, _thought you could escape me you stupid little roll of deception? _She'd almost lunged for it when a wall of fair flesh wassuddenly in her path. She looked up into Sesshoumaru's eyes; his surreal golden eyes that spoke of betrayal and mixed with a sort wistful look; so emotive for someone usually so uninvolved. Her eyes locked regretfully on his, her hand lifted to rest on the skin right above his heart so she could feel its steady rhythm. Maybe it was past judgement but she was almost surprised when she felt the strong beat under her palm, as if she thought he didn't have a heart before. Her mood swings got to the miko and tears welled in her eyes.

"I…I'm so sorry, Sesshoumaru. I've forced you into fatherhood for a child you didn't make and it was wrong of me to not ask you before agreeing to the deal." Unable to withstand his intense eyes, she dropped her head and let her forehead rest against his hard chest. He felt way more muscular than he looked and she almost stopped crying to remark on it. Almost.

"I think you've not been released from your insanity, little miko." Hesitantly, in a way that contradicted his firm voice like their hair colours contradicted each other, he set his hand on the back of her head and gently stroked her hair with his thumb. He'd heard it was not good for a pregnant woman to get worked up and searched to soothe her. "I am not bitter of becoming a father or of being thrust into the role without consent. This Sesshoumaru is only upset that we are not tied together except as pack mates in doing this. Parents are supposed to be mates if the pup is not birthed for political reasons. It is how I was raised." He could admit to himself that he'd been avoiding her but he could not fathom why. He'd always been one for confrontation, usually not inclined to run from his problems. Not that she was a problem to begin with.

"In my time, lots of people have kids without being married or even in a relationship so I guess I never thought of that. Truth be told, I haven't even tried to understand how you could feel about this because I was focused on my own problems. I mean, pregnancy? I'm only 17 and I'm still a damn virgin yet I'm having a baby. It's not uncommon to have children so young but it's still a scary thing…I don't know where I'm going with this. I should shut up. I'm sorry." He calmly listened to her rant, his soothing motions not stopping for a second. As alpha of his pack and father of her child, he would protect her from anything while she carried the baby and even after it was born, seeing it as his duty to protect her until her death anyway. _Or perhaps…Perhaps I _want_ to protect her. Perhaps, despite her humanity and the fact that she is pupped, I want to be with her. When she described what a soul mate was…It makes me think of her. But she had put the term 'friend' in there too so how am I to know? What does it truly feel like to find your soul mate? Father never explained what he felt like when he was with Izayoi._

"If I had it my way, we would be mates. I never intended to have a child simply for it to fill the role of a strong heir. I take pride in my lands and my people but never would I subject my child to the kind of childhood I had. My pup would be smart and strong but he would be happy and allowed to adventure beyond the castle walls. He would be born of love and raised with it. He would not be a simple pawn in my life." The taiyoukai explained softly, his eyes fixated on an empty spot in the distance. So Inuyasha had followed her to make sure she wasn't attacked while giving her the freedom of thinking she was alone in her task. So be it; she didn't need anyone to hold her hand.

"You keep saying he as if you're sure it'll be a boy but I have a feeling we're having ourselves a little girl." Kagome mused, her tears having dried already. Just his embrace felt secure and she thought it a pity that the only other being to have experienced it was Rin. He needed to comfort more people; it really took away from his scary and untouchable persona.

"And you ignore the fact that I have basically asked you to be my mate," here she gasped, quite bewildered that he would even propose such a tie to be formed between them. He almost chuckled, taken aback himself by the proposal. Was he softening up? "Besides, I would enjoy having a girl as much as a boy. I will take what life gives us without argument or bitterness." He finally admitted, reluctantly pulling away from her so he could finish taking his haori off. His whole reason for being there was to take a bath and she probably had other things to do, too.

"You talk about being mates, Sesshoumaru, but do you even love me? I am not going to be one of those girls who marry a guy simply because I'm having his child and I won't be the girl who is with a guy who doesn't love her because I deserve better than that." Kagome tried to look away as she spoke but she was entranced by his exposed torso and the feel of his embrace that continued to blanket her despite his distance.

"You are correct; you do deserve a man that loves you. And no matter how…confused…I am by my own feelings at the moment, it changes nothing if you do not love me also. It would be the same situation." With his back toward her, he turned his face so she could see his expression over his shoulder and let a barely noticeable smile grace is habitually stony features. He still looked like the perfect statue that he was. Was it possible for her to love him in the way a mating bond calls for; to love him for what he is underneath all of that ethereal beauty? _Yes,_ she decided, _I am capable of loving Sesshoumaru in a way that I was not able to love Inuyasha. I can love him because from the start I've known that he sees me for who I am and I know he never lies. I know that having a baby would change nothing in the way he feels for me and that he would never simply give up on me. He's smart, he's strong, he's tenacious and he's reliable. His emotions are hard to pinpoint and his past is mostly kept in the shadows but it takes time and trust for those things to change. Maybe I would mate him if we only got to know each other and ourselves better. Like dating, or courting as they'd say in this era._

"I might not be in love with you but I do love you. And I'd be willing to spend the rest of my insignificant life with you if I knew you; the real you that hides behind that straight face and unemotional countenance. The question is: would you sacrifice some of your time to get to know me too? Instead of proposing a mating right away, would you court me and then decide if we're fit to mate?" He considered her words in silence, thinking of all the advantages courting the little miko would bring. It would build trust and give them both a better understanding of the other. Maybe, just maybe, he could figure out if he loved her or if he'd simply been infatuated with her for the past few months. Maybe he could figure out just why he'd become interested in her that way in the first place.

"Yes, I believe courting may be the best course of action for you and I. We could begin tomorrow, after you've had a good night's rest and after I've washed the smell of my mother's castle off of my skin." He hinted at his yet to be taken bath, eager for her to go so he could take off his hakama and fundoshi and finally get cleaned. What did it take for an inuyoukai to take a bath around here?

"Oh, ah, yeah, of course. I'll just grab the obi and go…" Heat rose to Kagome's cheeks as she rushed around him to pick up Sango's forgotten piece of clothing and leave, her baby bump suddenly feeling like it belonged there instead of just being a reminder of the deal she made. She felt like she would no longer toss and turn at night, occasionally feeling her rounded stomach because she'd forgotten it was there and tried to roll onto her stomach to sleep. However, she paused with the purple obi in her hand, turning back to the majestic inuyoukai who was untying his own obi. "Wait, you were at your mother's castle?" He also paused, looking up at her with eyes that seemed to border both blankness and curiosity. _Look at that, _she thought with an inward smile; _he's already trying to let down his physical walls. What a guy, _she mused with just the barest hint of sarcasm. _I have to remember that he isn't really a guy; he's a dog demon with a humanoid form. A taiyoukai._

"Yes, I have been there for the past two days. There was an uproar about her death, though she was not technically ruling over my subjects ever since father died. She was quite literally the lady of nothing but the fact that she was stable made them look to her in times of need. Unlike with me since I roam freely like a traveler, only visiting when I am called upon or when I feel restlessness among the land or people. They usually have to search for me whereas she was always sitting right on her throne of pretense." His explanation was quite forward and she got the gist of it and nodded with an embarrassed lowering of her eyes. _And I thought he was avoiding me when really he was taking care of whatever good lords take care of…I am so self-centered._

With a final gentle smile, she left Sesshoumaru to his personal business and made her way back to Sango's with a bit of a pep to her step. She realized that it had taken her longer than was normal and hoped that Sango hadn't worried too much but was just too excitedly anxious to actually care. Starting tomorrow she would be courting Sesshoumaru and she just couldn't wait to uncover who he was underneath that bravado he was covered in when he walked around and did this and that. Actually, it was there even when he was doing nothing. Just how much practice had he put into that "I don't care" show of attitude of his? Was he raised to be like that? Surely not…

Pushing aside the mat that lead into the hut, Kagome stopped and stared fondly at the pregnant slayer curled up to her husband. Miroku looked up and caught Kagome's stare with his own, He smiled and not knowing what to do but not wanting to speak, she held up Sango's rolled up obi. Miroku pointed to the shelf to her right and she set the fabric there without a sound. Before she left, the two friends waved to each other and Kagome made a heart with her hands, trying to communicate just how lovely he and Sango looked. He accepted it with a grin and a nod and she left, making her way to Kaede's. The children would be asleep but maybe she could catch Inuyasha, have a relaxing conversation before she too went to sleep. Kagome hadn't eaten much that day so she knew her best friend would force some food into her before she actually got any type of rest. She had to stay as healthy as possible for the baby—or pup as the inu brothers and any other respectful demon would call it. Hell, she was doing all that she could to stay healthy so she could have a safe delivery and hold her child. It had nothing to do with the threat of her curse returning if she failed and everything to do with being a good mother. She was already worried about not being apt and she'd only been pregnant for a week. She'd be one hell of a mama-bear.

She found her hanyou friend waiting outside of Kaede's hut with his dog ears aimed her way and a smile on his face, his fangs showing teasingly from between his lips. She sat beside him and let him thrust a bowl of rice and fish along with chopsticks at her that had been concealed behind the sleeve of his red kimono. She gratefully took the food and started eating, her hunger making a wild appearance.

"So, d'ya get some answers outta the bastard?" He playfully asked in that gruff voice that was just as attractive as his brother's yet so unlike it that they were easily discernable. She smiled at herself, shaking her head. _Now I'm comparing them, _but she didn't feel bad about it. In fact, she felt quite serene in the moment, a weight having been lifted off of her shoulders a while earlier. She was peaceful with the fact that she might end up with her best friend's brother, even if she'd loved him first. And he was all for it, which made her happy.

"Yeah, I got what I needed. And be careful with your words, Inuyasha. He is your brother and the father of the 'pup' currently growing in my womb." She winked at the inuhanyou and resumed her meal, catching the weirdly accepting look on his face.

"I'm really gonna be an uncle, huh? I hope the pup comes out with ears like mine, just to spite Sesshoumaru. Oh how funny it'd be to see him coddle a little mini-me." And with the thought, Inuyasha laughed. It would be priceless, especially considering the look his older brother had always given him in the past. But there would be none of that hate or disgust on his face when he looked at his pup and there no longer was any of it when he looked at Inuyasha now. That was all in the past.

"I hope it has your ears too. I've always loved your ears, y'know? There's just something about them that's so…" As stealthily as she could, Kagome took the advantage of him looking away and set her food down, reaching her hands up and snatching his soft ears between her thumbs and index fingers. "Touchable. So, so soft and furry and fun to play with." Her voice turned to a goofy voice you'd use with a pet as she made a rubbing motion on his ears, enjoying their texture. They twitched every-which-way to try and free themselves from her hold as Inuyasha glared at her, a joking growl aimed her way. He didn't really mind her affections, though his ears were sensitive and touching them for an extended amount of time hurt. Kagome had always seemed to understand that, never holding onto them longer than necessary. He was grateful for that.

The friends laughed and continued to enjoy each other's company until the young priestess finished her food and was ready to sleep, having taken a good half hour to digest so she wouldn't get cramps. After settling down for sleep in a hut that was lent to her and her friends until they could build one of their own, Kagome lied in a half-awake, half-asleep state and continued to make senseless talk with her best friend as he sat inside, next to the door as guard. His Tetsusaiga propped up against his shoulder, he fiddled with his necklace as he gave her replies just as senseless as her own words. Their conversation was meaningless but held such meaning to the both of them that they didn't want to stop. Inuyasha could barely believe he'd ever hated her, seeing how close they were now. If it wasn't for her, he'd be dead ten times over by now and as unhappy as can be. She was a beacon of light in the darkness that had formed around his heart and mind. She saved him in more ways than one and he was grateful that she stayed, grateful that she patiently waited for him to come to his senses. Likewise, she would be nothing without him at her side. A protector, a pick-me-up, a best friend and a gem was what he was. He was a diamond in the rough when she first met him and now he was just sparkling the way he should have always been. She trusted him and loved him like no other, glad to have him in her life. So they talked and laughed and ignored when silence was needed to tease each other like they'd always done and always would do. The pregnancy and possible mating with Sesshoumaru would change absolutely nothing and he would be a big part in their child's life. A good uncle and play mate.

"I could take those off, you know. You don't need them. Haven't really needed them in a long while." Kagome whispered as she cracked her eyes open for a second to catch a glimpse of his silver hair and golden eyes. He shook his head and she giggle softly. "I may have abused of them quite a bit over the past year two years. Forgive me?"

"Keh," He let go of the necklace and crossed his arms. "There's nothing to forgive ya for, idiot." He haughtily claimed before opening his eyes and smiling at her, uncrossing his arms from over his chest and stuffing his hands in his sleeves in a calmer way that fitted him much better. "Tough, ya gotta admit, a lot of those 'sit' command were unjustified." He winked. She rolled her eyes and closed them, not quite willing to go to sleep but knowing that she had to get some rest soon.

"And a lot of your words were uncalled for and mean. Deal with it, jerk." She teased right back as she settled in a comfier position on her back. Then, she was asleep as fast as a light-switch flipping off and as hard as a rock. Inuyasha stayed and simply closed his own eyes, keeping his ears and nose as sharp as ever. He would watch over her and protect her until his last breath, not ready to lose her for at least another fifty years. She was here to stay, whether she liked it or not. And she did so that made it all the more enjoyable. Most could only hope for a friendship like theirs.

Outside, Sesshoumaru sat at the base of a tree near the hut, listening to the exchanged words distractedly while wondering what they could do tomorrow. He wanted to include Rin, since he hadn't seen her in the past two days either, but was not looking forward to a day of flower picking. He knew Rin wanted to go swimming too but he didn't know if it was wise for a pregnant woman to swim in a river. He'd have to ask the miko about it; she knew more when it came to women and any type of situation that involved them. If it was accepted as an activity, he'd bring the girls to a part of river where current wasn't an issue and let them have fun, perhaps joining them if he felt it appropriate to do so. If a swim was declined, he could always bring them flower picking or even for a walk if they so pleased. Tomorrow promised great weather and truly, he didn't care what they did. As long as he could form a bond with Kagome and get to bond with Rin too, he would be satisfied. Seeing Kagome and Rin interact was always a pleasure; proof that they could make a great family together. He'd bring the kit too if he wasn't leaving for kitsune school in the morning but that couldn't be helped. Oh well, he'd take what he could get and try his best to know Kagome better, even if she was already an open book.

Maybe he could love her after all. It couldn't be so different from what he felt when he looked at his little Rin, could it? If that was what it felt like to have a daughter and be proud and love her, then he assumed he wasn't so far off from loving Kagome like a mate would. She could help him better understand the feeling in his chest, he knew.

"Jeez, your aura is just a ball of confusion isn' it, ya bastard?" Sesshoumaru heard Inuyasha's voice mutter from beyond the walls of the small hut and resisted the urge to go down there and pound him a good one on the head. What was stopping him? The little miko that slept five feet away from the half-demon. And maybe even the small speck of affection he was starting to hold for the whelp, despite their hard past. Hn.

**Author's note:**

Hey, I'm back with a new chapter! If anyone's ever wondered what I listen to when I write "fluff" scenes, wonder no further! I've basically been listening to Inuyasha OST while writing this whole chapter, songs like "Futari no kimochi" and "Kagome and Inuyasha I and II". I don't understand Japanese quite that much yet but those three just calm me and make me feel at peace and happy. Anyway, that's all I didn't need to yet wanted to say to y'all! Have a good night, eh? Or day, whichever you're taking part in! haha love ya and thanks for all the nice reviews. ^.^ -Nat :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for all of her amazing work.**

**Chapter 8**

It couldn't get any better, Kagome assumed. The sun was shining, the water wasn't too cold and she and Rin were splashing around in a section of river that didn't have too much current. She'd gone home and gotten bathing suits for them; an old one piece for Rin and a bikini for herself. The miko had no other bathing suit that stretched enough around her swollen abdomen so she had to settle for a colourful two-piece. She didn't feel self-conscious about her stomach and felt that that was an accomplishment in itself. Besides, since she'd taken off her elastic-band skirt and her loose t-shirt, Sesshoumaru hadn't stopped staring at her.

Ah, that proud taiyoukai. Too self-important to take his haori and boots off to join them in the water, he settled for sitting under a near-by tree and watching them have fun while making conversation here and there. Rin was just happy that Kagome was with her in the water and that her lord seemed more talkative than usual. The only con about playing with Kagome was that the 10 year old had to be careful around her belly so she wouldn't hurt the pup. Other than that, she thought it was about time that Sesshoumaru did something solely for pleasure and actually spoke up instead of having them guess what was up; not that she'd ever had any trouble reading him like an open book. She was an insightful child indeed.

Everything was well and dandy for the trio, except for that fore-boding feeling little Rin had in her chest. The inuyoukai lord and the miko seemed immune to the feeling but she just couldn't shake it off. Seeing that Sesshoumaru was relaxed though, she forced herself to act as if nothing was bothering her. She wouldn't be the one to mess up such a fun and laid-back day for the older couple. She really wanted them to end up together.

"Hey, wait a minute Rin. I need to use the bushes…again." Kagome excused herself after another half-hour of fun in the river. She loved the soft tan forming on her skin through the sun-screen because of the harsh sun but she wasn't particularly enjoying the amount of bush-breaks she had to take because of the pregnancy. She wished she could just enjoy their escapade whole-heartedly. It must have been the sixth time in the past 3 hours that she had to excuse herself and she was not happy about it at all.

Crawling out of the water, she did on purpose to pass close to Sesshoumaru and flick a few drops of water at him. Surprisingly, he just rolled his eyes at his little miko and flicked a strand of stray hair over his shoulder, his eyes focusing back onto Rin to make sure she was playing safely.

"At the rate you are expanding, I do not think it will be another 3 months." He casually said before she was out of ear shot. Kagome broke her gait and looked back at him over her shoulder, seeing that he was in fact not looking at her as he spoke.

"At this rate, I don't care. The sooner these bathroom breaks diminish the better." She huffed, turning back to finish her journey to the bushes. At least she'd confirmed that it wasn't her imagination; he had been staring at her body!

Kagome took care of business and soon returned to the water, enjoying what was left of their afternoon. Rin was getting tired and they'd soon have to go back to the village so they could eat. The older girl and the inu at their side didn't understand exactly what happened next however. A spear laced with hidden demonic energy whizzed out from between the trees on the opposing side of the river and was aimed straight at Kagome. To their utter surprise, the spear collided with the faintest of barriers and fell right into the water, going around Rin's legs as if repelled before continuing it's descent down the stream. Sesshoumaru couldn't act fast enough before he was face to face with their offender, the man pressed up against a tree by his throat. It was a human male he did not recognise by sight but by smell. It was the human smell that had been all over his mother and her palace. Meanwhile, Kagome pulled Rin out of the water and quickly slipped their dry clothes over their wet swimsuits.

"Rin, you erected a barrier!" She managed to exclaim once she'd calmed a little and their clothes were on. The smaller girl looked up into her eyes with chocolate orbs that shone in wonderment.

"I did? But…I didn't do anything." She marvelled, shyly looking away and toward the trees where her lord had gone off to. So that had been the sense of foreboding she'd felt the whole time they were having fun? A demonic weapon with a concealed aura? Too bad the person wielding it was probably too busy being dead to explain why he'd creeped up on them in the first place, much less attacked.

Sesshoumaru emerged from the tree line a minute later and knelt near the water, rinsing off the small amount of blood he had at the tips of his claws from having his hand around the human's neck as he shoved him up against the tree. Thankfully the threat was gone and his company was safe. He would have never forgiven himself if the spear had actually hit any of them, especially since he hadn't sensed the intruder at all. Paying attention to the smallest details, he studied the girls from head to toe and finally felt relieved as they were both perfectly unharmed.

"Who—I mean what kind of demon was that? I've never met a demon who could hide their aura so well…" Kagome spoke up first after he'd leapt elegantly over the current to reach them. The taiyoukai shook his head and looked down at her rounding stomach.

"It was not a demon. It was a mere human with a weapon not meant for him. He had a concealment spell the likes of which I have not seen in centuries; the kind only found in my father's arsenal." Kagome was puzzled but still started walking ahead of him when he swept his arm forward. Their outing was done sooner than they'd all expected.

"Rin was the one who protected me with her barrier." The teenager spoke up as the younger girl ran up to her and joined their hands almost uncertainly. Kagome squeezed softly to say that it was more than welcome. That added an extra bounce in Rin's step.

"I've been practicing with Kaede-baa-chan lately but I did nothing this time, Kagome. It just happened on its own. Although, I could feel and odd presence the whole time we were swimming." She admitted sheepishly when she felt the inuyoukai's stare at her back. He was kneeling in front of her so fast that she didn't have time to stop and smacked right into him, stumbling back from the impact. Kagome caught her before she could fall and easily steadied her small frame. Sesshoumaru's intense golden gaze fixed itself into hers once he was certain that she wouldn't fall back.

"Why did you not tell me about it? I could have found him before any kind of danger occurred." The demon went from intimidating to comforting when he saw his ward, practically his daughter, cower slightly as she looked away. He stood back up and laid a hand atop her head so she understood that he was not angry with her.

"We were having fun and you were being different. Good different. I didn't want to ruin the day." With the admission, Rin took a guilty appearance as she took the hand Kagome was offering her and they resumed their trajectory home. Deciding to let it go, Sesshoumaru said nothing more on the subject and let Kagome change the topic.

"Your barrier was a pretty blue, Rin. If we used our powers together to make one, it would be purple." Kagome stated proudly as they walked on. She tried to ignore the gaze she felt at the back of her head and enjoy the sun but just couldn't seem to do it. She knew she'd have to speak with him once Rin was occupied doing something else.

"Really? Wow Kagome, you sure know your colours!" Rin praised, amazed that she could tell mixes from the top of her head. She herself knew barely anything when it came to making colours out of two already existing ones, except that blue and yellow made green and red and yellow made orange.

"I could teach you too sometime. I bet you'd love it if I brought you some paints and papers so you could make pretty paintings, huh?" Rin beamed at the prospect and tugged in anticipation on Kagome's hand.

"Oh, very much!" Kagome smiled at the answer, making a mental note to bring some for her next time she crossed over.

In barely any time at all, the trio were back in Kaede's village and Rin practically ran to Kaede's hut to eat. Kagome stayed with the powerful demon and let him come up to her side before they settled on a calming pace toward Inuyasha's forest. She knew the rest of the Tachi were there and wanted them to know what had happened just in case. As they walked, neither of them wanted to speak up so they stayed in comfortable silence, just waiting for the other to say something. When it became clear that they both were keeping quiet, the young miko decided to surprise him by wrapping her hand around his arm and leaning on him slightly. If they were going to be courting, she refused to keep a distance. A healthy relationship included touching; lots of touching. Plus, she was feeling rather touchy-feely as of late.

"It was the human my mother had been with that attacked earlier," he finally said, his right hand coming up to settle on hers that was wrapped around his left elbow. He'd seen couples do this as they walked all his life but had never had the pleasure of being in this position himself. It was strange…and more welcome than he thought it'd be.

"So…he was supposed to be the father of this baby—pup?" She barely remembered to correct herself, often forgetting that she was indeed carrying a pup. A little Inuyasha-like pup who would have Sesshoumaru's strength and her heart. It was still strange to think of it that way though…

"Hn. He took a weapon from my father's armoury and decided that we did not deserve his child. As expected, he is the one who left with his metaphorical tail between his legs. Nobody hurts you or my pup." With a note of growling seeping through his tone, Kagome understood just how serious her date was. The scary inu was just an overly-protective puppy at heart. It felt reassuring to know that he wasn't just strength and terror.

"How sweet of you. But, you know, since we didn't technically make this pup, he sort of has a right to be angry." The pregnant teenager reasoned with a soft squeeze to his arm. In response, he lowered his voice to speak since Inuyasha was now in obvious hearing range.

"Oh, but we could literally make the next one, Kagome." He teased and she choked on her inhale of air, stopping momentarily to cough. Inuyasha was there in a second, having left his perch in the Goshinboku a mere fifty feet away to see if his best friend was alright.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" The hanyou asked once she'd recomposed herself, sending a short glare at the taiyoukai next to her who seemed perfectly content with her flustered state.

"Yeah, I'm good. But you," she pointed an accusatory finger at the elder inu. "If you think this is funny, you haven't experienced what I think is funny. You better watch your back, ya overgrown fluff-ball!"

"I was not trying to be funny, my little miko. I was simply stating a very obvious fact." He teased further, not offended in the least with her method of address. He was getting used to her odd nicknames, no matter how derogatory they sounded. Inuyasha on the other hand was surprised that her head and her body were still connected. Perhaps he did have a soft spot for his dear friend after all.

"I'll just…leave you two to it." The half-demon left his friend in his brother's very capable hands as they continued throwing jibes at each other so he could return to his perch and his conversation with Miroku. He was more interested in Kagome and Sesshoumaru's conversation as it was but didn't feel like imposing on their bonding time. It was still weird that they were courting and would probably end up together, though he supported them fully. He just didn't want his best friend to forget about him once her family was established. He would be her pup's uncle after all and was sure to be a help when it came to the whole hanyou part of the child's life.

"Yeah well we'll just see how factual that is when I'm going through the pain of childbirth. I've never heard a woman confidently say 'I want another one!' It's always just something that happened and it won't be happening if I've already got one toddler latched onto my boobs!" She argued, happily dismissing her friend with a distracted wave. He was already gone far enough to not see or hear her though so her action was in vain.

"So crude, Kagome. Won't you give this old dog a chance?" She could see the mirth in his eyes despite his even voice; his smooth, velvety, deep voice that rumbled so tauntingly at her that she nearly failed at keeping herself away from his lips. _Whoa there, _she stopped her train of thought like a car colliding with a sturdy tree. _Where the hell did that come from? He's talking about knocking me up with a second child for Kami's sake and I'm thinking about kissing him? I'm unbelievable. _

"Have you ever been with a woman, Sesshoumaru? Because your courting ways are far from customary, if I may be bold enough to say so." She lifted an eyebrow playfully despite the nature of her own taunt. She could practically hear the harsh reminder that he was basically the embodiment of sex and that women—demonesses probably threw themselves at him left and right all the time. She was almost stupefied when he only chuckled quietly and slid his arm around her back to lead her on toward the rest of their pack.

"I have and it took no wooing to get to her. We rutted and she left, having gained what she was looking for." In a deep part of his somewhat twisted mind, he knew that he'd phrased that badly and that out of context it sounded horrible and wouldn't gain him any favour but he said it as it was. No woman would want to hear that from a man she was courting; he was certain of that. So he ploughed on before she could get put off by his slip of the tongue. "She was a childhood friend who had a preference for women herself. Forced into a mating with the eastern prince if she was still a virgin before the end of the moon cycle, we pretended to like each other that way for a night and then she left to be with her true love. I went on living as if it had never happened. I apologize for having said something so inconsiderate." Kagome however didn't care for his past conquests; they were in the past for a reason. As long as he didn't run to any of them when things were rough between her and him, she would be happy. She'd had enough of that with Inuyasha and Kikyou before.

"Wait, so you've only been with one woman?" She inquired once his words had truly set in. _Not just a normal woman either; a woman who was batting for the other team. Ooh, poor guy._

"I've had no need or want for any other intimate relationships. I was helping," the word was close to foreign on his tongue and he tried desperately for it to come out as casually as possible. "If I'd have wanted to be a tramp, I could have easily put all of the other ones to shame. However, I found myself disgusted by those females."

"We don't care about your adventures between the sheets, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha interrupted their talk, having heard enough to last a lifetime. They hadn't realized that they'd reached their comrades, despite the taiyoukai's usually sharp attention to his surroundings. They were both caught up in their private talk.

"Or lack thereof." Kagome couldn't help but tease as she led him further, wanting to finish their conversation more than seeing her friends. It was odd for her to feel this way but she couldn't help it.

"I'll show you my lack of lustful adventures when you are a part of them." Kagome went red at the thought and Inuyasha tumbled over his own words after hearing that come from his normally neutral brother's lips. They weren't far enough yet and all 3 of her friends had heard him loud and clear.

"Oh my…" Sango gasped before putting a hand to her mouth. Her husband simply pulled her close and gave the most conspiring grin at the youkai lord. Kagome paled at the look on the monk's face and turned her wide stare at the male beside her.

"I swear, if you two are having secret lessons about pick-up lines together, I will castrate you both! You shouldn't take anything Miroku says to heart, you damned inu!" The miko practically yelled out before he could quiet her down.

"As if I would be foolish enough to ask advice, especially from that foolish houshi." The dog-demon amended before she could make assumptions so drastic that she'd actually consider doing any harm to his privates. His little teasing game had gone a little too far, perhaps. Maybe he shouldn't open up completely off the bat and let her think that he was a pure soul or something. Too bad these insinuating jibes came naturally to him and once she started playing along, he had to keep going. It was so…fun? _Yes, fun._

"You better not or so help me…" Kagome kept on going, mumbling to herself as the distance between the duo and the trio steadily augmented. Sesshoumaru patiently waited until he was sure they were out of earshot before breaking up her babbling monologue.

"Stop rambling, Kagome. I believe we have more important issues to discuss than things that will never happen." He tried to tone down the conversation to a more serious topic but she refused to let their day spoil too much. Instead, she picked a nice spot and pulled him down to sit so they could keep talking amiably before the sun started to go down and she'd have to go eat. She was just happy she hadn't needed another bush-break yet. Oh what she would do for actual plumbing…

"Yeah like the fact that I have a test to study for and instead of doing that I'm confabulating with my date about his imaginary sex life." She leaned her head on his shoulder once they were comfortable settled down and playfully rocked his slightly to the side to make him feel the full extent of her teasing. He was feeling too at ease with this way of communicating to actually feel fully relaxed. He'd spoken more that day with her than he had since he was a pup himself and it felt strangely agreeable. He felt as if he was not himself…_Or I have simply fooled myself into being someone I am not. It is almost laughable._

"Might I remind you of your ongoing virginity, little temptress? Or would you like to keep teasing me after I take care of that problem?" On that note, Kagome became silently conflicted. If there was actual truth to his threats, she wasn't sure if she should keep going or stop teasing him. _He could get the wrong idea, _she worried. _But is there really any wrong idea to get? Would I—no, do I want our budding relationship to go that way? _It was worrying her how much she was verging closer to yes than no. She was having a child so why not do the actual deed? And who better to ever do it with than a walking, talking embodiment of sex appeal?

"Might I remind you that a lot more wooing will be needed before you get the pleasure of doing that, Fluffiest?" Then she laughed out loud at the nickname she gave him, almost regretting ever getting the idea of using any name that wasn't his own when referring to him. _He'll kill me someday; I can just feel it._

Surrounded by tall trees and small woodland creatures, the pair talked as the sun slowly made its way toward the horizon. The scene was serene with a soft scent of wild flowers and a promise of rain the next day. The only sounds they could hear except their voices was the soft songs of the birds in the trees and the other small animals padding around on the forest floor. So they talked. And finally, when Kagome's stomach audibly protested, He escorted her back to Kaede's where she had her meal with Inuyasha as per tradition while the taiyoukai went off by himself to do whatever inuyoukai did.

When the food was all gone and the best friends were left to head to Kagome's borrowed hut, the hanyou place his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She looked up at him fondly to find him looking ahead with his brows furrowed.

"Listen, Kagome, I ain't gonna be with you tonight. There's this village a few miles away that needs help with a demon who attacks after the sun goes down. The bastard'll be watchin' over you from somewhere close instead." He explained, feeling guilty about leaving her alone during the night. She didn't mind however because she needed time alone to concentrate.

"It's fine, Inuyasha. I'll be studying anyway so you don't have to worry about me being bored." She reassured as they reached the small hut and he pushed aside the mat covering the doorway for her. Inside, she quickly lit up a fire so there's be light and he lingered shortly at the entrance.

"If you say so. I'll be back by the time you wake up anyway." He felt the need to add before they bid each other good night and she wished him good luck. Left to her own devices, Kagome opened up the books she needed and sprawled them out in front of her. With a pencil in her hand and a notebook resting in her lap, she got to work on figuring out the pieces of English literature she was supposed to understand for the next test. She took notes of what the story was about; well, at least the parts she thought she understood. She loved learning another language but with all her time in the Sengoku Jidai, she had trouble keeping up at times.

Outside, after making sure that there was no hidden threat anywhere close, Sesshoumaru reclined against his usual tree from where he could hear his little miko mumble to herself as she scribbled down important notes. He would here a page flip here and an eraser scratching against paper there. He let himself relax enough to actually fall asleep, trusting his senses and his instincts to wake him up if any threat was detected. The sun had set and the villagers were gone to sleep, leaving him in near perfect quiet.

**Author's note:**

I was going to make a lame joke but I forgot it so here's another chapter instead! I was originally planning on having more action happen but in the end I figured I'd leave it for the next one. Just to let you know, none of this story is pre planned; I write off the top of my head and hope that in the end it all makes sense together and follows my original plot. I think I'm bringing Sesshoumaru a little too much out of character in this fic but I'll blame it on him fooling himself into being someone he wasn't for all those years because he was deprived of a normal upbringing or something. Anyway, I'm off to work now! Have a good day/night y'all and smile! –Nat :) ^.^


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi, she's brilliant and came up with this amazing manga/anime. **

**Chapter 9**

In the still night, the moon shone brightly on the landscape and a soft smell of impending fall assaulted the noses of every creature out so late. It was in the warm air of that quiet night that Sesshoumaru slept, until his eyes snapped wide open and he was on the move.

He'd barely processed his own thoughts as he walked toward the small hut from which he could still hear the scribble of pencil on paper and the sound of pages flipping. And even as he continued his brisk pace, he knew she was there. _It was just a dream,_ he knew, _just a dream. _He almost laughed at himself for having to repeat it over and over again even when he knew it was just a dream. Hell, he could _hear _her move around and mumble as she studied. And yet, the image of her mangled body lying motionless on the ground in a tangle while being feasted upon by savage beasts stayed in his mind. _A nightmare…_

So before Kagome knew it, he was standing in her doorway with a slightly panicked look in his eyes as he looked straight at her. Then suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was out of her line of vision and she was being pulled back into his warm embrace. She tensed in her sitting position as his legs took their place on either side of her body, his arms winding tightly around her mid-section. His forehead fell to a resting position on her shoulder and he took his time in breathing in her scent. The taiyoukai knew it had just been a dream yet there he was, clinging to her like a hopeless lost puppy in need of affection. Finally, after a minute, she relaxed in his hold.

"I had not realized just how quickly and foolishly I had become attached to you, little miko. Can one as mighty as I truly become this clingy in such a short period of time?" To Kagome, it sounded as if he was speaking to himself rather than to her. For that reason, she neglected to answer his practically rhetorical question, focusing instead on his first sentence.

"Is liking me really that bad? I thought I was pretty neat there for a while. Thanks for knocking me off of my high horse." She tried teasing him in an effort to make him go back to being his usual self. It wasn't like the stoic inu to be so shaken up or even this touchy. What could have possibly happened?

"Developing dependence on the mere existence of another being is foolish. I should not have to touch you to understand that you are really alive. I am a fool." He spoke against her skin, his warm breath making a shiver travel up her spine. The priestess stared in wonderment at the strand of his silver hair that had fallen over her shoulder as if it was her own, the lock mingling with hers that were as dark as the night itself. She sighed as he loosened his hold around her waist a little, not wanting him to let go just yet. She felt so comfortable, so safe in his arms.

"But you're a cute fool, fool. My cute fool. Now tell me what happened or I'll just go back to studying while you're pressed up against me like that." His golden eyes finally opened back up and he lifted his face to look at her, the tip of his nose trailing up from her shoulder blade until it rested at the crook of her neck. She sent him a curious side look, barely able to even see his face in her peripheral vision since he was so close.

"Study on then, Kagome. I was never here," He whispered the last part as if he was fading away with his words but he stayed firmly in place, his hold not wavering and his nose still caressing the skin at the dip between her neck and shoulder. She shuddered at the feeling his breath on her skin was causing but tried to brush it off by reaching out and pulling her books closer. Too bad she wouldn't be able to study with him so…there.

"On second thought," she started after a minute of staring blankly at the pages in front of her while his breath caressed her sensitive skin, "I think I've had enough English literature for one night. I should get some sleep." She giggled nervously as the heat of his body only seemed to intensify at her back and where his arms were wound around her rounded stomach. That seemed to jostle him back to reality as he pulled away, quite reluctantly, from his hold on the beautiful brown eyed girl. He'd forgotten it was the middle of the night for a moment there…

"Right," He stood, leaving her feeling open and lonely on the floor. "Inuyasha should be back by sunrise in any case." It was as his back turned to her that her voice began working again.

"You could stay…if you want. I mean, I don't think Inuyasha would mind if you were to take his vacant spot for the night." Kagome blushed with her words, even if they were completely innocent. Inside the hut, it felt like a completely different world where only the two of them existed and she felt that by walking out, he'd be leaving her alone in the world her mind had created for them.

"Then do you also want me to talk with you until you fall asleep?" There was a note of teasing in his rich tone as he sat by her door without argument, glad she'd invited him to stay inside with her. Even after touching her, feeling the life inside of her for a little while, it wasn't enough. He didn't want her out of his sight, for fear that somehow the vision his mind had created would become true. For once, Sesshoumaru was scared. He was scared of losing her and all she'd ever done was tease him and take amusement at his expense.

"I'd love that, actually. I'm so used to it by now that it would feel wrong if you didn't." Under his intense golden gaze, she lied down on her mat and wrapped herself inside her sleeping bag, glad she'd been in her pyjamas long before he'd made an appearance. She was happy he was there. She hadn't noticed just how lonely she felt since they parted after their afternoon together.

After having found a comfortable sleeping position, Kagome shut her eyes and instead took solace in the mighty presence of his powerful aura. At a loss for what to say, the inu waited in silence for her to speak first, knowing that her case of the "night babbles" would get the better of her soon enough. As expected, she was talking before even two minutes could pass.

"What happened today at the river…is that what used to happen when Izayoi was pregnant with Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru's head snapped up at the defeated note in her voice, suddenly not too fond of the conversation thrust upon him by the privilege of taking part in her nightly talks.

"Izayoi, she…" He cut himself off to intensely think over his next words. He didn't want to scare Kagome or have her stressed for the rest of her pregnancy. "She had quite a few opponents of her own during her pregnancy. Naturally, my father fought her battles for her since she was pupped and she'd been raised as a hime, not a fighter. I think regardless of her physical state, he would have still protected her until his last breath." The taiyoukai wasn't too fond of speaking about his past but he knew that to build a healthy relationship, you had to trust your significant other with your secrets and your demons, no matter how deep you normally hid them. It was one thing he learned from the way his father had been with Inuyasha's mother 250 years ago. _Wow,_ he thought in retrospect, _has it been 250 years since Inuyasha's birth already?_

"Do people really hate half-demons that much? So much so that they try to kill the mothers while they're pregnant?" The teenager couldn't believe just how cruel life could be and had been for both Izayoi and Inuyasha and all the other hanyou and their families. _Jinenji and his mother sure had quite a rough time before we met them…but then again, it must have been worse for them since Jinenji doesn't have a real humanoid form._

"I believe this conversation has traveled down a dark path, my little miko. What do you say you actually try to sleep while I tell you stories of my own past?" Sesshoumaru finally offered when he realized that maybe topics such as these weren't very healthy. But did he have any good stories to tell about himself? Any happy memories at all? Growing up, he was always being taught how to be proper and how to fulfill his duties; he'd only had one friend and he wasn't too keen on speaking about her with Kagome, seeing as he'd rutted with the demoness once before.

Settled for sleep and ready to hear some stories about her seemingly two-dimensional companion, Kagome couldn't wait for him to start becoming more real. She wanted to know his past and share experiences with him and sympathise about his hardships so he'd appear less like just a physical embodiment of neutral life sprinkled with battle tactics. There had to be more to him than that, right? However, she didn't get to hear his stories that night. Outside, she could hear a muffled voice call out with a sudden rush of footfalls coming closer. The dog demon perked up and actually let a nervous smile grace his stiff lips.

"It is the monk." He stated as he stood once more, taking a few steps toward Kagome and bending at the waist so he could extend his hand to her and help her up. She placed her hand into his soft yet calloused one with mild confusion but let him gently pull her to her feet.

"Miroku?" The miko simply asked as she took her hand from his warm one to straighten out her pyjama top that had lifted to expose her midsection while she'd been lying down. What could Miroku want so late at night? And he seemed in a hurry, too…

"The exterminator seems to be in labour," Kagome let Sesshoumaru take her hand again to lead her outside, stopping only a second to slip on her shoes. She had long ago promised Sango that she'd be there for her when she was giving birth so she'd waste no time in reaching her side. A spontaneous feeling of excitement and happiness filled Kagome's heart at the idea of the two babies soon to be here. And if she'd never made the deal with Masuyo, great pain would have befallen her sister after the birthing process. She felt as though in the end, this whole deal she'd made was a complete pro. Two healthy babies were about to be born for Kami's sake!

"Hurry up, Kagome!" Miroku called out to her when he saw her come out of her hut. He was going to fetch her anyway but he was on his way to get Kaede first so it made him happy that she was already up and awake, being half dragged by the young western lord. "Sango needs your support, my friend."

"I'm going, I'm going!" She answered the nervous looking monk with the tousled robes. She understood his anxiousness though and forced herself to be wide awake and take control of the situation. With a new pep to her step, the young priestess quickened her pace toward the hut housing her sister, ending up being the one who was pulling Sesshoumaru along by his hand instead of the other way around. _BABIES! _She kept repeating it over and over in her mind with the giddiness of a child. She'd be a great godmother!

After what seemed like forever, the duo burst into the hut where Sango lied on her back, grunts of agony escaping her dry lips. Without needless hesitation, Kagome immediately let go of the taiyoukai's clawed and comforting hand to kneel beside her friend, intent on keeping her hydrated. Her water had broken and the contractions were so intense that she was sweating away her hydration. After a few short sips of cool water, Sango sighed in short relief and moistened her lips before smiling at the miko at her side.

"I'm about ready for these little ones to pop out!" The panting slayer admitted sheepishly as Kagome swept her bangs out of her face. Before she could formulate a response, Sesshoumaru confirmed that Miroku and Kaede were coming, Rin bouncing at their heels excitedly. Both pregnant women smiled fondly.

"You hear that? Now all we're missing is Inuyasha to come along and say some stupid things so you can yell at him through your pain." The younger of the two teased, earning a chuckle from Sango. Then another contraction hit and she grit her teeth, her eyes shutting tightly as she blindly searched for Kagome's hand. Kagome grabbed her hand and let her squeeze away her pain, ignoring her own pained hand to rub soothing circles on the taijiya's knuckles with her thumb.

"Uhg, and in a few months the roles will be reversed." Sango reminded, causing Kagome to cringe a little bit. Just then, Kaede and Miroku appeared, taking their places around her bed after placing the tub of hot water and the towels where they needed to be. Rin stayed at Sesshoumaru's side, contented with only watching. It would be the first birth she'd witness and she couldn't wait! She'd love to be a midwife someday!

After some encouraging words and a thorough check up, Kaede announced that Sango was far from ready to give birth. This would be a long and painful labour, unfortunately. After a stressful hour for the group, the crying taijiya had cursed her husband out for doing this to her and had, not so politely, invited him to leave. An hour later, Kagome's exhaustion began catching up to her and she started yawning. Around that time, the sun had started to rise and Inuyasha was back in the village, deciding to stay outside with the monk after overhearing their exterminator friend cry out and complain before vividly describing what exactly she could feel where and how she was going to castrate the houshi if the contractions didn't stop soon. For a strong taijiya with a tough body, she sure was handling the pain badly. To think she'd been stabbed multiple times in her lifetime and hadn't cried once…

Soon enough, the pain had stopped long enough for Sango to fall into a restless sleep. Kaede turned to the people remaining in the hut and calmly told them to go outside. The sun was shining and she felt they all needed a break for various reasons. For instance, the powerful inuyoukai looked a little pale and Kagome needed a good splash of cold water to the face to wake her up. Rin, though interested, unbothered and ready to learn, was starting to complain about being hungry. So the old woman sent them all away to take care of their personal business; she would stay and monitor the taijiya and notify them when she woke up so they could come back. Kagome had trouble wrenching her hand away from her sister's, even in sleep having one of the strongest grips a person could have. She finally managed it though and then was pulled out into the fresh morning air.

"Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha called out to her, waving as he walked over to join them from where he'd been sitting in the shade of a tree with a sulking Miroku. Kagome waved back with a tired smile and turned to say something to the inu already at her side. She noticed his complexion though and stopped her mouth from shooting off; he was even paler than usual.

"Hey, what's wrong Sesshoumaru?" She decided on asking before they encountered Inuyasha, having already been on their way to the nearby stream so Kagome could wake herself up and relax a little. She was still in her pyjamas for crying out loud!

"Nothing at all, I have simply never been in the presence of a woman in labour and her anxiety is quite overwhelming to my senses. I am fine." He reassured, looking ahead instead of at her, feeling unnervingly nervous himself. If he looked at her, he'd be reminded that she would be in that position herself all too soon. Would she curse him out and throw him out when the time came?

"Why the hell are ya putting yourself through that crap, ya bastard? I ain't going anywhere close to that hut until I hear crying coming from someone who ain't Sango." The hanyou admitted when they reached each other, his lack of sleep apparent. He'd spent the night killing off a bunch of tricky demons and hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night before either. Kagome sure was tired but he was worse for wear.

"He's probably just preparing himself for when Kagome goes into labour, Inuyasha." Miroku spoke up as he too joined the small group as they walked through the village and toward the nearest water source. The villagers all around paused in their activities to acknowledge the odd group who were now kin, taking joy in watching little Rin run in circles around them while they walked with her arms stretched out on both sides. The group sure was an entertaining sight, despite their drained appearance that day. Of course, nobody looked good when a woman was having a baby except the babies themselves when they came.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, like Miroku-sama, is nervous. You can't really tell but he is, deep inside." Rin stated knowingly as she continued to zip around them like the airplanes from Kagome's time. She received a soft glare from the proud inu but remained oblivious to it as they all finally reached the stream. There, they all set about doing their tasks. Inuyasha and Miroku gathered some wood and made a fire on the waterside while Rin fished and Kagome splashed herself awake with the cold water over and over again in hopes that the feeling would last. Sesshoumaru sat back and watched them all do their thing, sort of happy that he'd sent Jaken to the palace to complete some errands. Admittedly, he'd rather not have the grumpy toad youkai around to sour their moods. Despite the blanket of nervousness and exhaustion that already covered them all, everyone was in a fairly good mood; just as it should be when two little souls were about to come into the world.

"Aw, hell!" The inuhanyou suddenly cried out, his nose wrinkled as if his senses were being assaulted by a foul smell. Just as Kagome was about to ask what was wrong, she saw Sesshoumaru smirk and roll his eyes ever so subtly. Then, everything became oh so clear as a familiar dust cloud came into view with a laughing Ayame running not too far behind. Then, just like that, Kouga burst out of the kicked up dust produced by his feet with a proud grin and a giggling toddled in his arms. _Oh, right! _Kagome had nearly forgotten that Ayame had been pregnant herself not too long ago. So many babies all of a sudden was almost overwhelming.

"Baby!" Kagome and Rin shouted in unison, rushing forward to observe the little boy of the two very happy wolf demons. The sudden visit, though welcome, had quite bad timing.

"Hey everyone!" Ayame greeted the guys who seemed content with keeping a short distance. "Which one of you got Kagome pregnant?" She winked playfully when they all seemed to pull further away from the conversation she wanted to engage them in. Kagome laughed then, causing everyone to turn and see her holding the cub. He was a little thing with pointy ears like his parents and the green eyes of his mother. He had the skin and hair colour of his father and tiny little fangs showed through his wide smile. His hair was swept over his forehead and seemed to point every which way because of the fast winds he'd experienced in Kouga's arms during the run here. His facial features reminded more of Ayame than Kouga but Kagome had no doubt that he'd grow to be as roguishly handsome as his father was.

"Yeah, who do I have to pummel?" Kouga teased on, snapping the two brothers out of their trances with his rough voice. Miroku broke away from them and went over to see the baby also, sidestepping Rin who'd returned to the fire-side to cook the fish she'd caught for everyone.

"Nobody! Jeez, Kouga, tone it down." The miko laughed as she ruffled the baby's hair before handing him over to his mother who waited patiently for her cub to be returned to her with open arms and a soft smile. "I think you'd be surprised to hear the full story. But we don't have time for all of that right now."

The group had time to sit around the fire and eat a few bites of the cooked fish when Kirara made an appearance in her bigger form, beckoning them back to the village where Sango had woken up and was going through a whole new wave of contractions. Miroku climbed atop the eager nekomata and was followed shortly by Rin. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru exchanged a few words before Inuyasha took of on his own. Sesshoumaru, who had taken off his armour back in Kagome's hut and had left it there the whole time, went over to the miko with purposeful strides.

"It will be faster and swifter if I carry you instead of Inuyasha. We cannot afford to jostle you around too much now can we?" She nodded in understanding and let him sweep her up into his strong arms and cradle her to his firm chest.

Understanding the situation, Kouga and Ayame followed gladly as the older inu shot toward the village like a bullet. Kirara took off with her charges too and they all quickly caught up to the hanyou who was already halfway to the hut where their slayer was now moaning loudly in pain. Her state had quickly progressed during her sleep and she was very close to giving birth now, despite the original thought that her labour would be a very long one. She tried to keep in mind that she'd be having two babies and that the time between both births couldn't be determined until after the first one was out. How would she possibly survive two consecutive births? She was already in great pain.

Once the now bigger group reached the hut, Ayame handed their child to Kouga and decided that Sango needed the support of a woman who'd given birth not long ago herself to reassure her. With that in mind, she followed Kagome, Sesshoumaru and Rin inside, surprised that the taiyoukai was going in but not the monk who was to be the father. She brushed it off however and knelt on Sango's left side, letting Kagome take the right. With two hands to hold onto, Sango calmed significantly after her initial shock at seeing Ayame.

"Alright, let's do this!" Kagome encouraged with a comforting brush of the taijiya's bangs and a giddy smile. She was ready to hear some crying from two little newborns almost as much as Sango herself was.

"You heard the woman!" Ayame joined in the encouragements. And finally, Kaede announced that she was ready to start pushing, being fully dilated. The panting woman was more than happy to do so, despite the pain intensifying with every push and deep breath. "Sango, you are beautiful and you are strong! You can do it! I did it and now it's your turn so do all of us mother proud and push those little bundles out!"

"Ahhh, I'm trying! It hurts!" The slayer cried as her face scrunched up and she pushed, her grip on her friends' hand only tightening, almost to the point of cutting off their blood circulation. Kagome whispered words of encouragement while Ayame chanted about her beauty and her strength, saying that it was all worth the pain in the end. The process was on an endless loop and caused Sesshoumaru to leave in the end, letting the girls handle the situation on their own, seeing as they were doing such a good, loud job of it as it was.

"If I have to hear one more repeated compliment out of your mate's mouth," he directed to Kouga when he reached the huddle of males in the shade of the nearby tree they'd been stationed at earlier, "I will punch you. Does she always do such a thorough job of encouragement?"

Kouga huffed but joined Inuyasha and Miroku in laughter, knowing just how his mate was. Oh how he'd come to love his fiery red-head!

**Author's note:**

Hi, it's me again! I'm not very happy with the way I wrote this chapter but I decided that it would have to do for now. I'm sort of out of it because I caught a nasty cold but I'll live through this and be back to my usual self soon! So yeah, Sango having her babies! Who woulda known it would happen so soon?! I sure the hell didn't! Now I have to go about the task of finding her girls and Kouga and Ayame's son names. Hmmm, anyone got any suggestions? If you do and I use them, I'll credit you! Because I seriously have no idea what to name them but I want their names to have meaning and not just sound pretty! Same for when Kagome has her baby! I'm not saying if it's a boy or a girl yet but name suggestions are welcome for both genders in case I change my mind at the last second haha! Thanks for reading and I appreciate the great response this fic is getting! Stay awesome! –Nat :) ^.^


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props go to Rumiko Takahashi because she's awesome and she's come up with so many great ideas and stories, including Inuyasha!**

**Chapter 10**

Aiko and Akari, born four minutes apart with the latter coming first, were two beautiful baby girls who had their mother's eyes and their father's hair colour. Being identical twins, it was and would be hard telling them apart until they developed more discernable personalities. As it was, Aiko was mostly quiet and calm while Akari cried more and was more affectionate. Little Hiroki, Kouga and Ayame's son, was very intrigued by the newborns, as was Rin. It was to be expected though since they were so young themselves and didn't have much experience with such small babies. After a few hours of watching her coo over the girls, Sesshoumaru managed to pull Kagome away from the family's hut so they could be given privacy and so she could get the care she needed. First on the list was sleep.

"But it's so beautiful outside, why would I want to stay in and sleep?" Kagome complained as he escorted her away from her friends. The taiyoukai merely continued on his journey toward his favourite tree in the village.

"Who said anything about going inside?" He glanced at her knowingly before stopping at the base of the thick trunk and sitting down, lounging back in a comfortable position. After being settled in the shade so the harsh rays of the sun wouldn't beam down on him, he spread his arms out in a welcoming manner so that she would join him. Hesitantly, she got down so she was sat at his side, her hands folded in her lap. The inu rolled his eyes at her strained form.

"Tisk tisk, little miko." He gently chided, looping his big hands around her waist and pulling her back so that she was lying down with her face on the expanse of muscle between his shoulder and chest, his pelt acting as a cushion at her back and his right arm around her shoulders. She was shocked that he'd chosen such a position but quickly relaxed with the soothing rhythm of his steady beating heart that resounded throughout his strong chest. It didn't take long before she wrapped her arm around his torso and promptly fell asleep like a rock.

Inuyasha, who was he himself getting some well needed rest on a thick branch of a tree not too far off, couldn't help but take a look at his best friend cuddled up to his older brother. He couldn't help but smile at them, glad of how well their growing relationship was growing. Kagome brought out a part of the taiyoukai that nobody had ever seen before and he certainly liked that guy more than the bastard Sesshoumaru had been not even a year ago. She really could bring out the best in anyone with her pure soul and contagious happiness. Then, like her, he fell asleep quite peacefully.

Kouga and Ayame left with Hiroki the next morning, around the same time that Jaken came back from the palace. With Jaken and Ah-Un came Kohaku who wanted to see his sister and her husband and also meet their daughters; his nieces. Also with Jaken came some disturbing news about a few demon villages close to the palace's location. The higher ranking demons of the west were stirring quite menacingly, attacking innocent half-demons in protest to another lord of theirs having a hanyou child. It was even worse this time around since the hanyou would be his first born and inevitably his heir if he was still in power in the future and not overthrown or killed by a stronger opponent. To be fair, there was no being who could overthrow Sesshoumaru who would actually want to be lord of the west.

"I must go," The young lord of the west had told Kagome when they'd breached the topic during the slow walk toward the well. Kagome wanted to go back for a day or two but was feeling conflicted about it after hearing that Sesshoumaru would be leaving. She felt slightly insane for wanting it but she felt the urge to go with him, to be alone with him for a few days or so and visit the palace where he'd grown up, to see him actually playing the role of a lord and deal with his problematic people. Was it crazy for her to want that?

"Can I come? I mean, I'll be perfectly safe with you and I'd get to know more about where you come from an-" She was interrupted almost immediately by the towering taiyoukai as he directed a glare at her like he hadn't done in a good while.

"You have seen the palace and I feel like you do not need to go inside. The people will be unwelcoming and all I will be doing is paperwork and intimidation. Your presence, though your company would be welcome, is unneeded therefore a waste of time." His voice was hard and held a tone she hadn't heard in months. Could the idea of her coming along really make him revert to his old ways? Did he want her to stay away so badly that he'd treat her like he treated everyone else? Hell, he didn't even talk or look at Inuyasha like that anymore…

"If that's how you really feel," she lowered her gaze from his and turned her face away, unable to look into his eyes when they were so cold; an aspect that had become strange now. Which of his faces was a mask, an act? The warmer more open one or this cold, hard and incredibly passive one? Who was Sesshoumaru really? Was his current expression merely a shield or was it his true nature? Kagome was suddenly at a loss.

"I…" She was at a loss and he was lacking words for the vulnerability she was demonstrating. Could his demeanour really affect her entire mood so much? _We feed off of each other's emotions as if we are already linked by a mating bond. Have I really become so attached and dependant? Has she? What could people possibly find so wonderful in that? By mating, you lose the basic privacy of your own emotions and find yourself so in tune to the other's that they distract you from doing or saying what you actually want to. Is this what every being pins after? Sharing something as personal as your every thought, desire and emotion?_ He wondered if it would be worth it then if they mated. _Yes,_ he decided, _privacy is not as important as she is._

"You what?" She turned on him, pinning him with a glare that rivalled his own; the one she used to take on before when her friends mentioned Kikyou and Inuyasha meeting privately. If only he could feel what she felt when he acted that way, she'd be glad. He could understand how much it hurt, though she had no idea why exactly it hurt so much. There was a pain in her chest like she used to get when she thought of Inuyasha and Kikyou together. She'd been so hung up on him back then that she believed herself in love. Thinking back on it, she really had been in love with her best friend. Too bad sometimes being in love didn't last forever; she had a feeling she'd be happy all the time if her and Inuyasha had ended up staying in love and being together. He was always so good to her, despite their teasing arguments and past jealousy. She almost mourned their falling out, stopped only by the golden eyed youkai in front of her. Could she really feel for him as she'd felt for Inuyasha somewhere deep in her heart?

"I did not intend to impact your emotions negatively. I apologise." He softened at the sight of her and at the sound of her voice, the encounter going in a direction he'd never wanted to bring it to. Was it so hard for her to understand that he didn't want her to connect herself to his past? It was such an unpleasant time and place for him that he'd rather keep it and she separated. This was meant to be a new chapter in his life…whatever this was.

"I guess that's just too bad then," She huffed at him, slightly pissed that he could apologise so easily only a minute after regarding her through stony eyes. _Is he bipolar or confused or something? And who knew he could actually say sorry?_ "I'm going home." With that, she turned to the well not five feet away and marched purposefully toward it, intent on leaving the situation behind and seeing her family. She swung her legs over the lip of the well and just sat for a moment, inhaling a few more breaths of pure air.

"Wait, Kagome," He reached out to her, only to become completely paralyzed as a single word whispered from her lips.

"_Heel."_ She used the subjugation command she'd put on his beads for the first time since it was made, watching him slowly fall onto one knee as his whole body disobeyed him with a sense of wrongness in her soul. A being such as he really was not made to be restrained but she didn't want to hear what he'd have to say. That whole argument was sort of void in a way since he could follow after her into her time as soon as the spell wore off but she didn't care. _Let him be angry. It's not like that faint glimmer of betrayal in his awe-inspiring eyes changes how I feel about this situation in the slightest…Okay, it changes everything. I'm so sorry, Sesshoumaru._

Instead of hopping down into the well like she'd been planning to do, Kagome stepped back onto the luscious grass and waited for his body to obey him once again, an apology at the tip of her tongue. Finally, he forced himself back to his full height, the strain of the spell still lingering in his bones. He could feel the fury at the pit of his stomach for what she'd just done to him but accompanied with the feeling of betrayal, he couldn't bring himself to scowl or even sneer at her. He could see in her eyes that she was regretting it and felt that they both might've been making a bigger deal out of this than it was but still, _she ordered me like she would have ordered a pet dog._

"When you put these beads around my neck, you promised that you'd never truly use them on me." His voice was void of emotion as he stated the simple fact. He was treating her with such disregard while deep inside, in the depths of his soul, he wanted to hug her and tell her to not cry. Tears were welling up in her eyes and he felt like it was he that had went back on his word and should beg forgiveness. Was he not the superior? Could he honestly feel inferior when he'd done nothing too wrong to her?

"And I never had any intention to. It just sort of slipped and I was miffed. I'm really sorry, Sesshoumaru, it won't happen again." She lowered her head, ashamed that she'd stooped so low as to subjugate him because she wasn't happy with what he'd said. Who did that anyway? Who, other than someone as emotionally weak as she, would restrain someone because they said something she didn't particularly like? Nobody that she knew would do that.

"If," He eventually spoke up, letting his minute bitterness slip to instead be replaced by gentle tones and warmer eyes. He watched her watch his silky silver hair blowing in the gentle breeze of the mild day as he tried to mend the strain that was forming so quickly between them. "If you truly wish to come along, I will not stop you. It would be a pleasure to have you as company." The admittance wasn't easy to say out loud but he managed it none the less. Her eyes snapped up to meet his and she smiled softly at him.

"It's about time you come to your senses you stubborn demon." She teased pitifully in a small voice before sniffling and eliminating the distance between them to press her forehead to his hard chest and wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug. He returned the affection with a hand on her back and nuzzled his face into her hair, glad that the horribly useless argument was put behind them. Neither of them could remember why they had been mad in the first place at that point.

Two hours and a shared cup of ramen with Inuyasha later, Kagome was leaving with Sesshoumaru for the west after a short visit with Sango and her family. The taijiya was still recovering from the double birth but had managed to help Kagome pack her things into her bag and see them off with the others. Inuyasha had embraced her and made her promise to take care of herself while she was gone, promising himself that he'd entertain Rin instead of bothering Miroku and them while they bonded as an actual family. Then the duo was walking away, Sesshoumaru once more donning his armour and Kagome holding onto a strap of her backpack with one hand while touching her stomach with the other. She could feel the pup stirring within her and was just waiting to feel the first kick with no small amount of anticipation. She had a newfound feeling of excitement at the prospect of feeling her child move around and kicking as it grew and grew in her tummy until the day it would finally be born. She was surprised that seeing Sango suffer so much during labour wasn't changing her level of giddiness at all.

"Jaken claims that Masuyo is waiting for us at the palace." Sesshoumaru spoke up when he saw that the miko in his company was starting to seem bored with looking at her surroundings. _She is such a social creature,_ he mused thoughtfully; _I am surprised that she hasn't started a conversation yet._

"Then does she want to speak of our deal?" Kagome asked with a glance at him. He caught her eye for a moment and managed a discreet twitch of the lips before turning his attention back ahead.

"Hn. She will want to get the bad part of the deal out of the way most likely." He admitted, remembering just how twisted she could be. For every deal she made, the good sorceress did her best to spread good fortune and happiness but there was usually at least one consequence for the person who made the deal with her; one that could possibly break their soul if they were not strong enough. In was her habit to wait until the person was used to the pros before hitting them with that one con. However, he doubted she'd do anything too bad to Kagome since Kagome had done nothing bad herself to merit it. The only reason the deal was needed in the first place was because he'd unknowingly sent her into a trap by his lady mother. _What if that is it? What if the consequence if for me and not Kagome? I am as much a part of this deal as she is, being that I was thrust into the role of a father._

"Whoa hold up, there's a downside to all of this?" Sesshoumaru regarded her as she stopped, her initial reaction of internal panic thick in her beautiful scent. He crossed his arms into his sleeves and shot her a meaningful look.

"You need not worry, Kagome. I could be mistaken of her motives." Still troubled but trying to feel reassured, Kagome resumed her footfalls at his side, wanting so bad to make better conversation. So many questions were running through her mind about the taiyoukai at her side that she couldn't pick one. Finally, when she opened her mouth to make an inquiry, a question different than the one she meant to ask slipped out and she almost regretted it.

"Do you want to be a father?"

A long silence trailed after them as he pondered and they ended up setting camp before he had the chance to formulate a proper answer. It wasn't dark out yet but the clouds were darkening and the rain would soon fall. Seeing this, they mutually agreed to make camp inside when they stumbled upon a dirt cavern held together by the long roots of a tree from a higher-levelled hill. The ground had seemed to have crumbled from underneath the tree to form the opening in the terrain so Sesshoumaru made sure to test the sturdiness of the tree that would cover them before allowing Kagome to settle herself under its safety. Their clothes might get smudged with the soil but at least they would be dry and safe during the night. They set up their camp and then just sat side by side, watching the light drizzle start to fall as Kagome munched on some rice balls she'd made with Rin the day before.

"I do," The inuyoukai murmured after a period so long that Kagome had forgotten what he was even answering to. She gave him a side-long puzzled stare and finished her bite before asking.

"What?" He turned to look back at her with his shadowed golden eyes. He would start a fire soon; the clouds were making the sky so dark that it felt almost like nightfall. He listened to the raindrops fall into the small puddles forming outside of their cover for a few seconds more before answering.

"I do want to be a father. My original plan for supreme conquest had always been first on my mind but I still planned on becoming a father someday. Now that my plan has changed, I do not mind having a child so soon." It scared him how much he looked forward to holding his pup, the perfect mix of Kagome and himself, and watching it grow up.

"I'm glad." She sent him the most heart-warming grin as she watched him stand to go gather some relatively dry branches to make a fire. He felt the breath nearly being knocked out of him at the sight; the feeling unreal that such a look from her could be directed at him. "When you think of being a father, what do you think about most? What do you look forward to?" She asked then, encouraged by his positive response and oblivious to his inner battle for breath.

"If I were to say it out loud, I would never forgive myself. One such as I is not supposed to look forward to such things." He tried to brush off the topic. _What a fearsome demon, _he sneered at himself, _wanting to coddle an infant and watch its first steps, hear its first word. _He'd never felt so typical in his life.

"Oh, get over yourself, Sesshoumaru. I bet you cringe at the idea of telling your own pup that you love it, huh? You're too aware of your reputation to say things that are normal to say." Kagome rolled her eyes dramatically at the taiyoukai and crossed her arms as she watched him form a neat campfire at the center of a circle of rocks. _Does he have to look so perfect no matter what he's doing? It's so distracting._

"I do not care for the way others perceive me, little miko." He very nearly growled at he accusations. He was not so stiff as to disregard his pup because people would think him pathetic if he spoke such gentle words. He would treat his pup the way he never got a chance to be treated: with care, love and affection. Love…

"Is that why you literally told Inuyasha repeatedly that you hated him and that you would kill him even if you knew it wasn't true? Was it not because you wanted him and everyone else to view you as a dangerous, unattainable beast?" She knew she was basically picking a fight by exposing his faults to him so bluntly but she couldn't help herself. She would have blamed it on pregnancy mood-swings but she knew that it was just her being…well…her.

"You dare to imply that I was dishonest, do you? Oh, the audacity." His voice was surprisingly light and amused considering what he was saying. Did he always have to give off such mixed signals? She didn't know if she should tease him back, apologize or reinforce her point with examples. She settled for teasing, just in case.

"One has to be audacious if they ever want to accomplish anything, no?"

"There is audacity and then there is foolishness. For example, admitting that I care for you is audacious whereas admitting I love you would be foolish. I cannot love you because I have never truly known love and to love is to be hurt. Though, it might be a little too late on the painful part, considering my foolish attachment to you." Mind blown that he could ever utter such words, Kagome reeled back as if having been shoved. _Where is the punch line? Because this has to be a joke, right?_

"_Love – a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and lips to pucker. _At least, that's what writers in my time say to get noticed and sound relatable. Here's what I think," The beautiful priestess was still shocked at his previous words but felt the need to explain to him what he'd been missing out on his whole life. "To love someone is to want them safe, happy and free. We're all born with a need for love and we all want to die having been loved. Love is when you have to wonder. Love is timeless; you can't pinpoint when it began and you're sure it'll never end. Your heart beats faster when you see that person and you have an urge to smile all the time. You look forward to having adventures with them and then you find yourself thinking back to those times when you're alone at night and you can't sleep. They make you angry and make you want to curse them out and hug them at the same time. Their troubles trouble you because you can't help but worry about them and want the best for them. Love is not pity or sympathy; love is an emotion all in its own. Love is when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is better than any dream you could have. Love is when I babble and rant and try to explain to you what love is because I want you to understand how I feel when you're around." She was going to say so much more until she realised what exactly she'd said in her last sentence and she paled, her mouth opening and closing to try and save herself but failing to actually form words. There was no denying that she loved him and she'd said she loved him in front of him back at her house when her mother had asked but it felt so dangerous to say it now that she'd explained to him what she believed love was.

The fire sparked to life then and the glowing hues enhanced his entrancing hair and intense eyes as they were transfixed on her, shimmering orange and copper alike. He was frozen, completely unable to move or even breathe. She'd described to him in words he could not use himself exactly what he felt when he thought of her or Rin. And he would not admit it aloud but some of it could perfectly describe what he secretly felt when his brother was concerned. And as he watched the red and yellow reflects dance on her skin as she looked at him in what could have been bewilderment, he knew he loved her. He loved her because of all that and because she loved him when barely anyone else dared to. _Who would have thought…and there she sits just waiting with acceptance for me to brush off her claims as if they were the definition of complete foolishness._

"Then I do love you," Sesshoumaru admitted and to her ears the sound of his voice as he murmured those words was like sitting down after standing still for hours; supremely relieving and remarkably satisfying. "Though do not expect this to signal the start of worship or offerings on my part." He couldn't help but muse playfully when he was just how much her shoulders sagged blissfully from their previously tense position.

"I don't expect or want the world, Sesshoumaru. I'm perfectly happy with the way things are right now." And with that she gave him another one of her special smiles; the ones that seemed to be reserved for the people she trusted and without whom she felt she would die. He'd only ever seen her smile like that where her close friends and family were concerned and it filled his chest with warmth to know that he was included in that tight circle now.

"As am I, Kagome."

**Author's note:**

And thus we are a chapter further and dangling right on the edge of another plot twist. It'll all be revealed next chapter, friends. I think it'll be the last twist and then I'll just get deeper into the actual development of the story instead of the characters and their feelings. I find myself enjoying fluff scenes and hopeless romance so I might start up a second story that's just a big pile of fluff on top of fluff at the bottom of even more fluff. Anybody interested? If so, between which characters (from the Inuyasha universe) would you like the romance to be if I did that? Tell me what you think! Have a good morning/day/evening/night everyone! –Nat :)

P.S. The names I've chosen for the twins were inspired by a review from fanfic user bertabee (Aiko and Akari which respectively mean Little Love/Beloved and Light/Glimmer)! Thanks for the suggestions which in turn made me search and find similar names! Also, Hiroki, if anyone was wondering, means Abundant Joy/Strength. Anyway, see y'all next chapter, eh! ^.^


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi for being such an inspiration!**

**Chapter 11**

It was the next day and the duo was back on the road. The rain had stopped in the middle of the night but the paths were muddy and unpleasant to walk on. Sesshoumaru had just stopped to offer a complaining Kagome a ride to save her precious shoes when Masuyo made herself known. It was a surprise to see her, considering that Jaken had said she was waiting at the castle.

"Ah, Kagome and Sesshoumaru, what a nice pair you make!" The kind witch exclaimed upon being noticed, looking at the miko's grip on his arm that she was using so she wouldn't slip and fall because of the mud. Kagome smiled at the woman while the taiyoukai merely gave her his customary glare. He knew she was up to something.

"It's good to see you, Masuyo." The teenager greeted with a cautious bow, showing the enchantress the respect she deserved for what she had done for her friends.

"Now, tell us what you really want," Sesshoumaru cut to the chase as soon as Kagome had risen back to her full height, which was still more than a foot shorter than him. The three were at a standstill, Masuyo facing them proudly from no less than 10 feet away on the muddy road. The beautiful witch only smiled as she raised an open palm up to reveal a golden orb that resembled what the Shikon no Tama had looked like. The only difference was that it did not emanate any sort of power and it was not the same colour, either.

"This is a power concealing crystal that entraps a soul and keeps it dormant until it is called upon when needed. The soul that is hiding inside will escape if the time is right and their true bodies will return to them as if they'd never died. I will show you who is in this crystal, once we meet again at your castle. However," She slid the orb back into a secret pocket on the inside of her loose sleeves. "I have another surprise for you before then. The reason I have come to you now instead of waiting is so you may both get accustomed to this surprise before you reach our place of meeting."

"A surprise?" The inuyoukai tried to keep his voice passive despite the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. What kind of surprise could she give them that would be more shocking than the pregnancy itself? Hadn't she done enough?

"Do not fret young ones. It is only customary that I do this, since the pup was not meant to be yours in the first place." At her words, Kagome slid a protective hand on her round stomach. Was Masuyo going to take their baby away now that they'd gotten used to the idea of becoming parents and that it was bringing them closer together? _She can't do that to us, _Kagome protested silently.

In a strange moment, it was like everything around them went quiet and still in anticipation. The birds had stopped singing, the leaves were not rustling and even the sound of the flowing river nearby seemed to be drowned out by the reigning silence. Masuyo spread out her arms, weirdly calm under the scrutinizing stares of the powerful dog-demon and the passionate priestess. She was waiting for their reaction as much as they were waiting for her to reveal her "surprise."

"I present to you both, Keiko." Still, nothing happened. Then realization dawned on Kagome and she took a step forward, both of her hands clutching her stomach which was suddenly as flat as it had been before the miraculous pregnancy.

"That's the name we discussed last night while thinking of names for the pup! We were leaning more towards Keiko if it were to be a girl!" The young miko was panicking, feeling desolate at the loss of her belly. Then, Sesshoumaru's eyes went wide and he gasped audibly from behind her.

"That…that scent…" He whispered, the whole world going in slow motion as a little girl stepped out from behind Masuyo's robes. A little girl about four years old with silver hair and golden eyes…

Keiko, even more perfect than they could have imagined she would be, had silver hair like Sesshoumaru's that reached her shoulders, two thick strands of straight locks on either side of her face that settled in front of her shoulders like Inuyasha's did. At the top of her head, the middle of her bangs was held back by a red tie to show a violet crescent moon on her brow just like her father's. Two dog ears, just like Inuyasha's, were standing on point at either side of her pinned back hair. She had the heart shaped face of her mother with her softer shaped eyes except they were the colour of his. Her mouth was in a lazy "o" from which two tiny fangs could be seen. Dressed in a short, purple kimono, she was the picture of cuteness. Sesshoumaru slowly dropped onto his knee, his body ending up being too weak to support him, even as his armour let go on the left side and fell off. The red tie that had been holding it together was the thing that now served to hold Keiko's bangs back.

"That's our baby…" Kagome's eyes welled up with tears and she swayed a little, her hand settling on Sesshoumaru's shoulder for support. She just couldn't believe that there, facing them both, was their pup who had been a foetus in her womb only a minute before.

"Take good care of your daughter. Everything will be explained at the castle but until then, good luck." And Masuyo, like the great sorceress she was known to be, just faded away into the breeze, leaving only the little girl to stand a few feet away.

It took a moment for Kagome to regain her bearings but then she was rushing toward her daughter with her lips quivering and tears streaming down her warm cheeks. Dropping to her knees, Kagome pulled Keiko into her arms and held her to her chest in a tight embrace. The hanyou child didn't hesitate a second to hug her mother back.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Keiko pulled back and placed her tiny clawed hands on Kagome's face to wipe away her tears, though it changed nothing because new ones just kept coming. When the miko got too choked up to speak through her tears, Keiko looked over her shoulder to the still taiyoukai who was still on one knee in the mud, his eyes wide like saucers. Keiko knew he was he father just by feeling his youki, the demonic aura that was passed down to her in a smaller quantity and power. "What's wrong with daddy?"

It took a good ten minutes of staring at her, smelling her and hearing her tiny worried voice ask about him before Sesshoumaru could will his body to move. Even then, it was because Kagome had picked their little girl up and reached his side, Keiko's hand reaching down to touch the strands of his silky silver hair. Slowly pulling himself together, Sesshoumaru stood and reached his arms out to his little half-demon of a daughter, silently begging to hold her. Kagome handed her over with no argument, though she continued to answer Keiko's unrelenting string of questions.

"_Where are we going?"_

"_To your father's palace, Keiko."_

"_Why did you name me Keiko?"_

"_Because you're truly a blessing."_

"_Why isn't daddy saying anything?"_

"_He's probably too shocked to form coherent words, baby." _

True enough, the great inuyoukai was too shaken to speak. All he could do was stare at his daughter as he held her and gently run his hand over the top of her head, careful of her ears that he knew were sensitive from past experiences with his half-brother. He wondered why he'd ever looked down upon Inuyasha's half-human genes as he marvelled at how perfect Keiko was. _Can one truly saw anything bad about a hanyou after taking a look at her? _He'd have to apologize to Inuyasha when they got back to Edo for all of the things he'd ever said in the past.

Unwilling to let her go and unable to say anything out loud, the taiyoukai managed to get his body to obey and motioned for Kagome to stay by his side as they continued their journey toward the castle. At that rate, they'd be having their evening meal in the dining hall. During their adventure, Keiko talked and talked and talked, reminding Sesshoumaru of Rin when she pointed out every flower and butterfly she found pretty from her place in his strong arms. For a half-demon with the appearance of a four year old child, she spoke softly and eloquently, a fact that made the inu realize just how similar she could be to him in personality as well as physical appearance. Though, her chatter-box syndrome definitely came from her mother, the ever social Kagome. He'd have to thank Kagome for accepting the deal with Masuyo when he could speak again and also apologize for being a little angry with her during the first few days of her short pregnancy.

True to his assumptions, they reached his castle as the sun started it's descent behind the mountains. Ever considerate, Sesshoumaru sent Kagome and Keiko off to bathe before their meal, knowing how the mud and travels had dirtied their clothing and had dug up their appetites. Feeling more protective than he believed he was entitled to, he was always in hearing distance from his…family. He had a family now. The notion was hard to grasp for a demon that'd prided himself on solitude for half of his life but he suddenly didn't feel the least bit lonely now. _Kagome and Keiko are my family, _he was happy with the idea but had to revise the thought. _Inuyasha is also part of my family, as are Rin and Shippou technically. Have I truly been surrounded with such people and not realized how lucky I am until now? _The taiyoukai still could not speak but if he would have been anything other than mute, he'd have thanked Kagome a hundred times over for the impact she's had on his life.

Quite respectfully, Masuyo made her next appearance after they'd had their meal. The servants and guards were sent away to give the foursome their privacy and Masuyo started leading them down a hall that Sesshoumaru had never dared go down. It had been forbidden by his father when he was only a pup himself and he'd never really thought of inspecting it after his death. Kagome, who held Keiko's hand as they walked beside the tall inu, had been too lost in her own thoughts to really admire any of the architectural work or tapestries throughout the castle. Truth be told, she did not care for this place one bit. She wouldn't choose to live here if she had the choice; it was the last place on earth she could possibly consider home. There was a feeling of coldness and isolation in the air that just made her, and everyone else for that matter, want to leave.

"Have you truly never ventured here, lord Sesshoumaru?" Masuyo asked in hopes that he'd finally break his ongoing silence. No such luck. In fact, the question merited her a cold glare from his warm golden eyes and a soft sneer. It was as if he was unable to display such cutting emotions at all anymore now that he felt completely at peace in his heart. He coveted nothing, had no reason to hurt anyone or to hide his emotions. He was free of the persona he felt so inclined to hold up all those years…unreal.

"Uhh, daddy can't speak. But that's okay, I know he's fine. He's just happy is all." Keiko proudly proclaimed as the small group stopped in front of a set of heavy, gold-trimmed shoji doors. In the trimmings, some ancient text was engraved. Kagome couldn't read it all without getting really close but she settled for the words she could make out as Masuyo slid them open; something about a 'podium of life' and 'life beyond death'.

"Here is the room in which I will be able to summon the soul that is hidden in the orb of gold. As soon as we enter, you will feel the enormity of the aura held within it but you will be unable to find out the identity until the person is standing on the podium of life. I suppose I too would be surprised of the outcome if it had not been I that had taken the appropriate measures so long ago." True to the enchantress' words, it felt like a punch to the miko's stomach as soon as her two feet were past the doorway. Sesshoumaru got a sense of foreboding as his youki practically danced on the edges of the aura to feel the level of possible threat. Keiko on the other hand seemed completely oblivious of this powerful aura, though she was aware of it. She only experienced it differently because of her mixed DNA. The spiritual power and the youki that were at peace inside of her were trying to cancel out the overwhelming aura around her by activating in her veins to distract her.

"And now, we will meet him." Masuyo smiled as she extracted the golden crystal from her sleeve and set it on one of the only two things in the large room. It was a golden stand sculpted so that the top had a round indentation the exact size of the crystal instead of being just a flat pole. To its right, there was a slate of gold that formed a podium large enough for a person to stand on.

At first, the whole thing was completely uneventful. Then, as if having purposefully waited for everyone's disappointment before going into action, the orb cracked into two neat halves and a bright red light shot out like lightening bolts. It became clear as it danced a trajectory toward the podium that the aura was pure youki; a strong, pure and suffocating youki that was slightly out of control after being dormant for so long. Sesshoumaru's lips parted and the first sound to escape from behind clenched teeth was a guttural growl of the beast within him.

"What's wrong, Sesshoumaru?" Kagome pressed as she minimized the distance between them for protection and support in case the demon being summoned was really dangerous. She just hoped it wasn't a sworn enemy made out to test them or something. She'd had enough of those the past two years to last a lifetime. Their eyes not diverting, all of them watched as the demon started to take its humanoid form before them, cloaked in heavy armour and an elegant kimono. His hair was pulled up in a ponytail, his bangs brushing over his face as if a breeze was circulating only where he stood. His identity became clear as the red light faded and he clenched his hands to feel his own flesh. He was indeed alive again.

Standing there, in all of his glory, was someone they had not at all expected. With his silver hair, golden eyes and matching single royal blue marks on either cheek, the Inu no Taisho was even more formidable in real life than in any memory Sesshoumaru had or even in the vision they had seen after the destruction of Sounga. The great Dog General was back from the dead over two hundred years after being slain. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's father was alive!

"Oh dear Kami, the looks on your faces!" Masuyo laughed straight out as she watched them watch him. Kagome expressed clear signs of wonder whilst the taiyoukai at her side looked disbelieving yet accepting of the situation. Keiko, who did not know who was in front of them at all except for the way her small youki brushed up warmly against his, only understood the fact that they were related. It wasn't long before the Inu no Taisho joined the nice witch with his rich, deep chuckles. His eyes were fixated on his elder son, who had now reached out to grab the hand his daughter was extending out to him from her place in her mother's arms. _Why, _Sesshoumaru couldn't help but wonder, _why has she brought father back? And how?_

"I've been gone longer than I expected, son. I knew this day would come but I had no idea it would take you more than two centuries!" The great dog demon stepped off of the podium and tested his limbs as he neared his son and his family. The he got a whiff of Kagome and stopped, pinning his Sesshoumaru with a playful glare.

"Tell me why exactly you haven't mated this beauty if you've had a pup together? If it is reluctance on your part, I will do it. She is strong, beautiful and clearly has that radiance all of us long for when searching for a mate. What is wrong with you my boy?"

"Daddy can't speak," Keiko immediately went to say, only for Sesshoumaru himself to cut her off.

"I believe it is customary to court before mating where she comes from." He stated in a tone of voice rougher than was usual for him, taken by the sudden urge to leave. If this situation had happened a month earlier, he would have turned on his heel and left without a care or even a look back. Now though, he couldn't. For some unfathomable reason, he actually cared about what was happening. How could one day be so eventful? _I have a daughter and father is alive? _For a moment he actually questioned if he'd wake up soon from this bizarre dream.

"But you have a child together, surely you did not simply rut as practical strangers?" It was strange for the young lord of the west to see his father sword-less as he stood before him, even stranger that they were the same height now. With Tenseiga at his hip, Tetsusaiga in Inuyasha's possession and Sounga banished to the underworld, the Inu no Taisho had no weapon. In that moment, Sesshoumaru briefly thought of his past desire to beat his father in combat on his path to supreme conquest. It would be so easy now, especially with Bakusaiga in his grasp. But he wouldn't be able to do it now that his plans had changed.

"Excuse you, there is a little girl here!" Kagome immediately scolded as she clutched Keiko closer. There was no way she'd let anyone talk about such…mature things around her daughter! "Take your inappropriate words elsewhere, grandpa." She huffed, not knowing how lucky she was that the Inu no Taisho wasn't quick to anger or that he enjoyed teasing and banter. If it had been Sesshoumaru a few months back on the other end of that statement, he would have tried to kill her for acting as his superior and calling him grandpa. _Well, she has called me a fluffy, overgrown puppy…how is she still alive with such a loose tongue?_

"Pardon me, little miko, I did not mean to be so uncouth." Kagome rolled her eyes at the nickname, tisking as she did so.

"Like father like son. My name is Kagome, not 'miko' or 'little miko' or any other priestess related terms. Ka-go-me! I feel a little bit of déjà vu here." To bring her point across, she gently tapped Sesshoumaru's cheek. "That goes for you too, remember? Don't think I forgot how you let it slip all those times."

"Touga, put her out of her misery, will you? You're the third male from your family that she's had to say that to." Masuyo snickered behind a polite hand before taking her final leave in that way she had of just fading away. In truth, they'd all forgotten she was there in the first place. Sesshoumaru could only hope that she'd forget about them now. Boy was Inuyasha going to fall flat on his ass when he'd find out about this.

"I told you I would slip once or twice, Kagome. A habit is hard to break." Sesshoumaru turned his head to the side to look at her with a soft smile. She raised her eyebrows at him before shaking her head.

"I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks."

**Author's note:**

Alright, this chapter is shorter than I expected it to be and a little less detailed and smooth than I would have preferred but it can't be helped at the moment. I deeply apologize and I hope you can forgive me. Meanwhile, what the hell?! The Inu no Taisho is alive and Keiko is already a child?! What about Sesshoumaru who secretly wanted to experience her first steps and her first word? Poor guy has been robbed of that experience for now. But I'm glad we're finally getting into the actual development of his "soft" side! I promise that this chapter was the last major twists! Now we just need to develop the relationships between the characters and give them some room to breathe after all this excitement! Quick note: when this story is done, I WILL go back and edit the hell out of it and add some detail just to make it smoother to read and such, in case that would interest any of you. But for now, see you next chapter! Smile and have a good morning/day/evening/night! –Nat :) ^.^


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Props to Rumiko Takahashi; she's a wonderful author.**

**Chapter 12 **

That night, Sesshoumaru and Kagome retired to his chambers with Keiko, having been sent to get some rest by the Inu no Taisho. Touga had told them that they'd talk about the night's events during breakfast so that they might be on their way home in the afternoon. The trio settled down quite comfortably on a large futon, Keiko nestled warmly between her parents as she clutched onto her father's pelt that was wrapped around them. The girls were asleep within a few minutes but Sesshoumaru just couldn't bring himself to doze off.

Morning came quick and the foursome found themselves sitting around the table in the dining hall, the two pure-blooded dog demons not bothering with food as Kagome and Keiko enjoyed the meal made by the castle cook. The silence was pleasant for a while and they were all tempted to keep it that way but Touga wanted to explain everything as soon as possible so there'd be no bad blood between himself and his family.

"It took you a while to come around, Sesshoumaru. I must say, I'm not that surprised." He started in his silky deep voice, a glimmer of amusement in his shimmering amber eyes so full of life. Kagome wondered how someone like him could have a son so serious and cold and another with deep trust issues. _They've both had rough lives, _she mused darkly, _but they don't have to be so alone anymore. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru now have what most people can only hope to ever find; friendship and family._

"What are you going on about, father?" The younger of the silver-haired taiyoukai asked after a second or two of contemplation. Sesshoumaru couldn't lie; he felt a pinch of bitterness toward the Inu no Taisho for having made him believe that he'd been dead all those years when in reality his essence was hiding in a damned crystal ball. He knew though that he would fast get over it and simply enjoy his presence like he'd learned to do in the last couple of years before Inuyasha's birth.

"The reason I was preserved in such a way, son. I did it with you in mind, you know. I knew that someday, with your wanderer's heart and resentment toward your duty as lord, you'd find yourself a woman and would want your freedom more than ever." Touga smiled knowingly at his first born son and couldn't help but glance at Kagome who was cutting up Keiko's food but also listening and smiling at his words. She knew just how true his words were; Sesshoumaru had the soul of a gypsy and he despised what he was raised to do, though he demanded a certain amount of respect despite his lack of desire to rule. He was born to rule and that alone made him want to do anything but.

"So…you have the intention to rule again in my place so that I may do as I please with my life?" Despite his calm façade, the younger demon felt a blossoming feeling of warmth and relief in his chest. Could he truly be free of this burden and live out his life like he'd always secretly wanted? He could finally understand how Kagura felt the last moments before her death when she was free from Naraku's grasp, as the wind should be. To have nothing expected of you, no worries and no duty to keep you from being who you really want to be? _Was that how she felt when she smiled at me, even as her body was being destroyed by the miasma? Was it freedom that made her die happy?_ He wondered if he had anything to do with it, too. _I had developed a certain amount of affection for her…had she felt the same? She seemed so content when I told her that I'd known it was her I was approaching, not Naraku like she had believed. And now, did she ever truly become the wind? Is she the breeze that rustles fabric and blows around our hair on sunny days? _Such thoughts would have felt pathetic to him not long ago. However, now he felt that they were just fine. He was allowed to care.

"Exactly. If you would relinquish your title to me, I would happily take over all of your duties so that you could live freely with Kagome and Keiko at your side. Is that what you want, Sesshoumaru? You would have no more obligations to the west. If I were ever to perish, then I would appoint Inuyasha as my successor. He was not raised as you were but I believe he's doing a great job of being a leader as it is." Kagome looked up with wide eyes at that, acknowledging the compliment Inuyasha had no idea he was getting from the father he'd never known. If he knew that Touga spoke of him with such pride in his voice…Kagome's eyes watered. It was all her best friend had ever wanted; to rise up to the expectations he believed his father had of him.

"Father, you are a fool if you believe I would refuse such an opportunity. Kagome," he turned to the young miko at his side that was attending their beautiful little girl like any good mother would. "Do not cry. What's wrong?" His voice was soft as he brushed her bangs away so he could look into her eyes when she turned to him. She was smiling, showing a happiness that contradicted the salty smell of her tears.

"Nothing, I'm fine," She giggled at her pathetic tone of voice, helping Keiko who was trying to crawl over her lap to reach Sesshoumaru in the oblivious way children had of getting around with gentle hands. "It's just that Inuyasha would be really happy right now." She wiped at her damp lashes and laughed some more at the soft look he was giving her with those magenta lined lidded amber eyes of his.

"So you've cared for both of my sons, huh? You worry about both of them and help them find the error of their ways. Kami know they need it, hm?" Touga chuckled, unfolding his legs and standing up, noticing that the meal was finished for his grand-daughter and her mother. He signalled in his ever-loyal servants to clean up the dishes and gestured for the little family to follow him out into the hallway that lead to the gardens. Oh how he missed the fresh air and the smell of lilies. Sesshoumaru picked up Keiko and held her tightly in his arms as he followed his father, not resisting the urge to give a playfully soft pinch to her ear. The silky triangle flicked at him abruptly and she giggled, her same eyes shining in merriment. Kagome watched them fondly from a step beside where she too followed the Inu no Taisho into what promised to be a wonderful day.

"Well, I mean, who else would have? Most people are afraid of Sesshoumaru and the rest spat at Inuyasha for being a hanyou. There are only a few people besides myself who actually take the time to appreciate your sons for who they are, you know. Years of loneliness create barriers and who better to break a barrier other than a priestess?" Kagome laughed at her failed attempt at humour, inciting a low laugh from both males in her company. It was quirks like that which made Sesshoumaru love her.

"The red Tetsusaiga, perhaps?" the younger male mused jokingly after setting Keiko down to let her chase a butterfly she'd spotted. She reminded him of Rin with her love for everything pretty and her will to touch every colourful thing she saw like the flowers she passed by while she ran. An instant smile stretched on his lips, a thing that made Kagome beam brightly back.

"Red Tetsusaiga? What has Inuyasha done to my fang?" Touga questioned in bewilderment, regretting his dormancy somewhat. So many things had happened and he had no idea about any of it. A red Tetsusaiga? The only forms he knew of Tetsusaiga were the Wind Scar, Backlash Wave and the Meido Zangetsuha which came from the Tenseiga.

"It's a technique among others that Inuyasha acquired during his battles with the sword. The red-bladed Tetsusaiga breaks barriers. There is also the Adamant Barrage which shoots spears of adamant at his opponent. He's learned to cut through demon vortices, too!" The miko listed off proudly, thinking fondly on how her best friend had grown so much stronger since she'd first met him. Actually, all of her friends had. Even she could reserve the right to boast about her own acquired strength.

"Ah, I've missed out on so much. My younger son has mastered my fang better than I and my eldest so has a new sword made of his own demonic energy. What's next? Now that they do not rely on my strength, what good am I? Oh, the tragedy!" Touga dramatized teasingly as he fell into a sitting position near the pond at the center of the palace gardens. Kagome sat down also with a giggle while Sesshoumaru stayed standing so he could watch over their daughter as she ran around without his view being obstructed by flowers and shrubbery.

"Hey, Tenseiga is still one of a kind! And Bakusaiga, in all honesty, suits him more. With those two in his possession, your son is invincible." The pretty miko winked at the Inu no Taisho, sharing a smile with the older inu. She would have never thought he'd be so playful and kind with the reputation he had as a ruler. He was essentially a big puppy, just like Sesshoumaru.

"That's what scares me the most, Kagome. He has so much potential and he could defeat me so easily if he wanted to. Hell, Inuyasha could defeat me. I am no longer the strongest male of my line." Sesshoumaru locked eyes with his father and raised his chin with a slight curve to his lips. Oh how his childish soul sighed in bliss at the knowledge. He'd wished so long ago to defeat his father in battle to prove that he was stronger and now he didn't even have to fight to prove it; it was just a fact. He was stronger than the Great Dog Demon himself.

They spent all morning telling Touga of their feats. Kagome talked about Sango and how fierce she is in battle. She spoke of Miroku who had been a great opponent when he had the Wind Tunnel but who was still a formidable fighter with his staff and sutras. She openly expressed her pride for Shippou who was working everyday to become stronger with his fox magic and she even told him about how powerful and loyal Kirara was. When she failed to mention her own accomplishments, Sesshoumaru took over and described to his father just how great she was. Her barriers, her purification powers and her archery skills were all mentioned; a special little praise at her ability to reach targets by making her arrow disappear before an object blocking it and making it reappear behind it so it can hit the desired target. After being satisfied that he'd ruined all her attempts at humility, he went on to tell his father about Rin and Ah-Un. He even went as far as mentioning Jaken, Kohaku and Kikyou. Kagome picked up from there and expanded on Kikyou before giving merit to Kouga and his tribe. Sesshoumaru even had time to address the whole Kagura matter. By betraying Naraku, she'd helped them in their journey to destroy him once and for all. That got Kagome going on Kanna and their last encounter with her and her mirror demon.

"That was quite the adventure, huh?" Touga commented with wide eyes once the pair finished their resume of their adventures. Kagome nodded and Touga simply shook his head at the two who were parents to the awe-inspiring little girl who now sat in his lap so she too could listen to the retelling of their journey. Sesshoumaru's eyes kept being drawn to the thin crescent moon shown from the parting in her bangs caused by the red tie that had once held his armour together. It felt weird to not wear his armour for such a long period of time. As strong as he was, he felt vulnerable when he thought of his disassembled armour that was left in his chambers since their arrival. "I thought I had quite a list of accomplishments under my belt but you've all surpassed me. You've defeated foes I could have only dreamed of being able to down. And what's better, you've found love along the way. You've made friends, found people to consider as family and even had some little ones. Tell me, will you let me come with you to your village when you leave? I'd love to meet everyone you spoke of."

"Well duh!" Kagome exclaimed without pause and they laughed at her eager tone.

Kagome and Keiko ended up having lunch in the garden while Sesshoumaru and his father went hunting together. Surprisingly, the men were back before the girls had finished their own meal. After eating, the little group separated to get ready to leave so they could return home to Kaede's village. Much to Kagome's enjoyment, the Inu no Taisho offered to carry Keiko so that Sesshoumaru could carry her and they could run all the way. Keiko, who already seemed to love her ji-chan, was thrilled at the idea of going with him. With that, the foursome was off to surprise the group of friends and family that had been left behind in Kaede's village.

During the run, which to Kagome's surprise was much faster than with Inuyasha, she had the opportunity to speak with Sesshoumaru alone as they were ahead of Touga and their daughter. She decided to speak to him about their short courting period and the new developments in their lives before they were once more in someone's ear shot.

"Listen, Sesshoumaru, I've been thinking…" She started as they sped through the trees, her speech surprisingly not rendered difficult by the speed or the wind.

"You have had little time to do so in the past days, I imagine," He teased, causing Kagome to look up at his face. He was looking straight ahead with his chin up and a cocky grin on his smooth lips. Kagome couldn't help herself from giving him a playful snarky reply.

"At least I wasn't shocked mute for almost an entire day, hm? Did you get a lot of thinking done then or was it just internal sputtering?"

"There was a war between rational thought and instinct, I'll have you know. This perfect little thing that looked and smelled like both of us was there as her own person instead of a pup in your stomach. The beast knew she was ours but my mind could not comprehend. I suppose it was all sort of blank." He admitted sheepishly with a barely noticeable squeeze of his claws around her ribs.

"As I was going to say," She decided not to comment on his minute moment of weakness, knowing that such a remark might not be wise to do if she wanted him to keep being open with her. "I've been thinking about our very short courting period and what all happened since the whole curse situation…" She began again in hopes that he'd understand she was being serious. Kagome was overjoyed that he was feeling so jovial as to kid around but she needed to speak to him seriously for a moment in private. He seemed to understand though as he glanced down upon her soft yet suddenly serious face.

"Hn, go on, I am listening." He conceded with an encouraging nod. She clutched her free hand into the material of his haori covering his chest in a subconscious act before continuing with her statement.

"Sesshoumaru, I know I love you and I know that I could be happy spending the rest of my life with you. What I'm saying is that despite our technically short time together, I want to be your mate. You've admitted to loving me too and you're the one who mentioned being mates in the first place so I was thinking I should come out to you with that information since I don't really know anything about tradition and the like. To be honest I feel kind of embarrassed admitting that." To prove her point, a pale pink glow took over her cheeks. She was just glad that he didn't make it openly obvious that he was looking at her while his face was aimed forward.

"Would you like me to tell you of mating tradition?" He offered upon her admission, feeling none of the embarrassment she felt at the subject. It was a thing he'd grown around, hearing adults talk of the purely physical private ceremony that resulted in permanent bonds and pups.

"Please do." She smiled up at the handsome taiyoukai with a gentle curve to her lips, trying not to mind the wisps of his flowing silver hair that came to brush against her face as he took a sharp turn around a big tree.

"Though the mating bond is ultimately spiritual, it is consequent of purely physical action. Two beings come together and share their bodies in the privacy of a bedchamber or even, as I've heard before, in a secluded cave. During the physical affections, the dominant inu speaks his vows of forevermore loyalty then waits for the accepting nudge of, in this case, the female. To show acceptance, the female places her nose below the male's chin and nudges upward. Once undoubtedly accepted, the male proceeds to place his mark by biting his chosen female on the neck, right below the ear. If done correctly and with good intention, the bite is painless. Then there is a banquet held by friends and family where they feast and congratulate the newly mated couple." As beet red as the explanation rendered her, Kagome was easily accepting of the tradition. There was one thing that sparked her interest though…

"You said 'in this case, the female.' Does that mean that two males or two females can properly mate? Like your childhood friend, is she mated with her lover even if they can't have children together?" He chuckled at her question as if it was obvious. He wondered if maybe things were much different in her time.

"Of course. A mate is not defined by gender, Kagome. A mate is based on love and the merging of two compatible souls. Plenty of same gendered mates merely adopt orphaned pups who have been robbed of parents due to attacks or war. Who is to stop a pair who loves each other from being together in the most basic form there is?"

"Boy are you going to be astounded when you learn about Christianity…" She couldn't help but mutter under her breath, thinking of the ongoing conflict for equal rights in her time, especially in the more religious parts of the world.

A gust of wind passed the couple by then, two flashes of silver hair just like Sesshoumaru's brushing up on them in a teasing manner. Kagome watched contently as Touga and Keiko slowed their pace down a few steps in front of them to taunt them with their speed.

"Look mama, we're first now!" Keiko happily exclaimed from where she clutched onto her grandpa's elegant kimono. Kagome smiled at her daughter, noting the cocky grin on the Inu no Taisho's face.

"Yes you are, baby."

**Author's note:**

It's been a while and this is very short and I am very sorry for the rushed chapter but I needed to get something out there despite my rough week! If there's anything you're wondering about or don't fully understand, ask and I'll answer as best I can! The next chapter, to make up for this one and the last, will be extra long and full of juicy stuff (by juicy I do not mean lemons, people. I don't write lemons.) I predict that it'll be up by Friday and it's sure to be a fun time! I hope you have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night and smile lots! –Nat :) ^.^


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